Much as they were just a few short weeks ago, the Miami RedHawks proved pesky before falling to the University of Akron 74-59 in front of 3,237 fans at Rhodes Arena on Wednesday night.
The Zips (19-7, 11-1 Mid-American Conference), who won their eighth consecutive game, had to overcome the hot hand of Miami point guard Brian Sullivan, along with some shaky outside defense before eventually going on to win.
The game probably played out exactly as the Zips wanted. Sullivan enjoyed a 5-of-6 performance from behind the 3-point line in the first half, but that was only because UA took away the RedHawks’ other option, forward Julian Mavunga.
Mavunga came into the game averaging 17.1 points and 9.6 rebounds. Against the Zips, he was often double-teamed and scrounged up 11 points and six rebounds, many of those points coming when the game was already decided.
“I think the first half we totally eliminated him from the game,” said UA forward Demetrius Treadwell, who tossed in 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. “He did make his team better by moving around and passing out of the double team and Sullivan sort of got off a little bit.”
It was more like a lot, as Sullivan looked unstoppable.
“Our concern for Mavunga kind of hurt us,” UA coach Keith Dambrot said.
Sullivan, who finished with a game-high 19 points, including 5-of-9 from behind the 3-point arc, inflicted his damage early.
The Zips then turned to forward-guard Quincy Diggs, who put the clamps on Sullivan, allowing him to make just one shot in the second half.
“We decided that if they were going to beat us, they were going to beat us with twos and not the 3,’’ Dambrot said. ‘‘We decided to pick the other poison.”
He tasked Diggs with that responsibility, and the Zips went from doubling Mavunga to playing everyone man-to-man.
“Coach told me right before half that he wanted me to guard him,” Diggs said. “He’s been killing us, and I just took the challenge and shut him down basically.”
Sullivan made just 1-of-6 shots in the second half, unable to get the wide-open looks he got earlier in the game.
“He seemed frustrated when he didn’t get his shot off,” Diggs said. “So I did my job.”
Offensively, the Zips couldn’t play much better, connecting on 51 percent of their shots. The RedHawks (8-16, 4-8) were also scorching in the first half.
Sullivan’s 3-pointers kept his team in the game, but with Diggs locked in on him, Miami shot just 33 percent in the second half after connecting on 52 percent of its shots in the first half.
Guard Chauncey Gilliam led the Zips with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting. The Zips travel to Tulsa, Okla., for a game against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles in the Sears BracketBuster game on Saturday.
Managing the MAC
The Zips continued their team-record performance against the MAC by running their record to 11-1, tying a mark last achieved by rival Kent State, who did it in the 2003-04 season.
Quick hits
Point guard Alex Abreu left the game briefly with an injury, but returned. … The Zips have won games by 10 points or more in seven of their past eight games.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at http://zips.ohio.com. Follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.
