For most of Wednesday night’s Mid-American Conference men’s basketball game between the University of Akron and Toledo, the Rockets seemed to have the Zips on a leash. Each time the Zips got too far ahead, the Rockets would give a little tug and get back into the game.
But a 9-0 run midway through the second half allowed the Zips to pull ahead and finally fend off the Rockets for an 86-72 win.
The Zips, winners of eight of their past nine, improved to 15-7 overall, 7-1 atop the East Division of the MAC. They are also 8-1 at home this season. The Rockets (10-12, 2-6) remain near the bottom of the West.
“Every single team, whether they’re 1-7 or 2-5, is going to come in here and give us their best shot,” said Zips forward Nikola Cvetinovic. “Maybe [Toledo’s] record doesn’t speak for it, but they are a very good team.”
Rian Pearson was certainly good, finishing with a game-high 29 points. In fact, it was a rebound and dunk by the Toledo guard that cut the Zips’ lead to 51-50 with 13:34 to play. It was the closest the Rockets had been since the opening moments. But in his excitement over the dunk, Pearson slapped the backboard and earned a technical.
The Zips responded with two technical free throws and a drive from Alex Abreu, a putback by Cvetinovic and a 3-pointer from Brett McClanahan, pushing the lead out to 60-50. From there, the Rockets never got closer than eight points.
“Most of our games have been like this,” Cvetinovic said. “We are able to punch, and then we get punched. We’re still trying to figure out how to get the knockout punch.”
Zips coach Keith Dambrot said the Zips’ zone defense, which they have used sparingly this season, was a key to holding off the Rockets. But Dambrot also said his team’s attitude from the tip helped allow the Rockets to hang around.
“I think they took things for granted,” Dambrot said. “I think they thought, ‘Oh, they’re going to roll over.’ We didn’t have any excitement tonight.”
Quincy Diggs, one of five Zips to score in double figures, finished with a team-high 16 points. Abreu and Zeke Marshall (10 rebounds) added 14 points apiece. Chauncey Gilliam had 11 and Cvetinovic had 10. The Zips’ reserves, led by Diggs, outscored the Rockets’ reserves 35-14.
“The people coming off the bench could start for us,” Diggs said.
“And not just us,” Cvetinovic said, “but any team in the MAC.”
McClanahan finished with nine points, but had two 3-pointers during the Zips’ decisive second-half run.
“I thought McClanahan’s 3-pointers were key,” Dambrot said. “It’s my job to figure out who is the right pony to ride each night, and McClanahan was better than the others tonight.”
Gilliam and Diggs made 3-pointers early and the Zips opened a 10-point lead midway through the first half. A 3-pointer from Abreu gave the Zips a 31-17 lead with 7:24 to play in the half. At that point, the Zips were 13-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-8 on 3-pointers. They didn’t make another 3-pointer until the second half, missing six and going 4-of-15 from the floor the rest of the way.
That’s when the Rockets reeled in the Zips, going on a 10-0 run, during which the Zips missed five shots and turned the ball over twice. A three-point play from Marshall set off an 11-5 run by the Zips for a 43-34 halftime lead.
Behind five points from Pearson, the Rockets again shrunk the gap to 48-44 early in the second half. A couple minutes later, Pearson threw down his dunk in what was the beginning of the end for the Rockets.
“We just didn’t execute tonight,” Dambrot said. “I don’t want to be negative. We still won. And we’re not going to go through the entire regular season, play 31 games, and be great every night. But we’re fighting for that semifinal bye [in the MAC Tournament]. That’s huge. We know we have to be perfect [down the stretch].”
