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Freshman point guard helps lift Zips past Aggies with career-high 23 points
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Sunday, Dec 14, 2008
Perhaps this was the game in which University of Akron basketball fans officially can say this about Anthony ''Humpty'' Hitchens: ''Wow.''
Hitchens, a true freshman point guard from Chillicothe, was a blur with the ball and continually made key shots as the Zips (6-3) pulled away in the second half to defeat North Carolina A&T 78-61 Saturday night at Rhodes Arena.
A crowd of 2,626 saw Hitchens make six 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 23 points and also contribute four assists in 28 minutes.
''He is just a puppy, but he can put the ball in the basket,'' UA coach Keith Dambrot said. ''He is hard to keep in front of and he can stop on a dime. He is going to be a big scorer here.''
The importance of Hitchens' performance is underscored by the fact that he made 7-of-13 shots from the floor, including 6-of-8 on 3-pointers. The rest of the Zips made 18-of-48 shots (37 percent) from the field, including 7-of-28 (25 percent) on 3-pointers.
''Their defensive scheme is to sag. We had open threes. We have missed more open shots this year than in my first four years combined,'' Dambrot said. ''He is the only one who can make a jumper now.''
Hitchens, who led Chilli
cothe to a state championship last season, did not start the first three games and averaged 5.0 points. He has started the past six games and has improved to the point that he has reached double figures in five in a row.
''It's a big change,'' Hitchens said about the transition from high school to college. ''Coach just tells me to play my game and keep working hard. I changed my shot a little from when I came here. I am feeling more comfortable shooting.''
Hitchens scored 14 of his 23 points in the second half when the Zips outscored the Aggies 43-26. In the first half, the visitors shot 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the field in being able to hold the Zips to a 35-35 tie. In the second half, UA intensified its defense and held the visitors to 35.3 percent (6-of-17) from the floor.
''They get after you on defense. They disrupt things,'' said North Carolina A&T coach Jerry Eaves, a former standout at Louisville. ''They do a nice job of taking you out of your offense and applying a lot of pressure.''
The Zips tied a school record by attempting 36 3-pointers, making 13 for 36.1 percent. At one time in the first half, the Zips had attempted 25 shots and 17 of them were from behind the arc.
UA helped itself by holding a 30-26 advantage in rebounding and a 29-13 edge in turnovers.
Besides Hitchens, the Zips had double-figure scorers in sophomore forward Brett McKnight (13) and senior forward Nate Linhart (11).
Senior forward Ed Jones made four 3-pointers on his way to scoring 23 points for the Aggies. Junior guard Tavarus Alston added 15 points and four assists.
In the first half, the Aggies got eight quick points from Jones to take a 16-6 lead after seven minutes.
Hitchens followed that with consecutive 3-point baskets to start a 24-9 run in the next 12 minutes to put the Zips ahead 30-25. Hitchens later sank another 3-pointer to make it 35-29, but the Aggies closed with six consecutive points to forge a 35-35 tie at the half.
In the second half, the Zips started with a 7-0 spurt on offensive-rebound baskets by Jimmy Conyers and Mike Bardo, and yet another 3-pointer by Hitchens.
Later, UA led just 50-46 before McKnight scored seven consecutive points and Hitchens made another one from behind the arc for a 10-0 run that ran the score to 60-46.
It was 63-52 when Hitchens put an exclamation point behind his performance by making two free throws with 8:02 left and then a three-point play on a fast break with 7:42 remaining to put the Zips ahead 69-52.
The Zips play at Virginia Commonwealth on Wednesday night before having 10 days off and playing St. Francis (N.Y.) College at home on Dec. 28.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Perhaps this was the game in which University of Akron basketball fans officially can say this about Anthony ''Humpty'' Hitchens: ''Wow.''
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, OH
Posted 02:53 PM, 12/14/2008
Welcome back to the court Jimmy Conyers! Keep up the good work!
Go Zips!
