Robbie Harman could hardly arrange a sentence Tuesday night after the CMU men’s basketball team’s 56-52 loss against Akron at Rose Arena.

The typically sharp senior point guard sat next to senior teammate Jordan Bitzer and made an effort to explain a second consecutive loss after leading by nine points in the second half at Rose Arena.

“I take it personal,” said Harman, who scored 13 points. “I can’t tell you what happened. It’s frustrating to even think about — I can’t even talk about it without just getting mad.”
CMU (11-11, 6-4 Mid-American Conference) led 41-30 with 14:05 remaining in the game but, much like Kent State did Saturday, the Zips closed the game on a large run. Akron outscored the Chippewas 26-11 and 8-0 to end the game. CMU made four of its final 21 shots.

“Throughout the game, we just missed a lot of easy opportunities that we needed to finish,” said CMU coach Ernie Zeigler.

Meanwhile, Steve McNees keyed the Zips’ comeback. The 6-foot-2 junior guard made all four of his 3-point attempts and hit four free throws with less than 3 minutes remaining.

For most of the night, CMU’s below-average shooting did not lead to a large deficit. Central’s 3-of-15 (20 percent) and 4-of-25 (16 percent) start from the field almost was equally matched by Akron’s 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) effort.

CMU fell behind by six in the first half before Bitzer’s 3-pointer at the end of the half tied the game at 27. Bitzer led CMU with 20 points.

But 24 offensive rebounds on misses allowed Central to score 20 second-chance points.

“We had guys out there giving everything they had,” Zeigler said.

Forwards Jalin Thomas and William McClure dove for many of the misses — and there were plenty — CMU made 18-of-63 shots (28.6 percent). McClure had six offensive rebounds, while Thomas and junior guard Antonio Weary grabbed four each.

The Chippewas still are tied atop the West Division with Ball State, but the loss leaves little leeway for the Chippewas heading into Thursday’s game at Ohio (13-11, 4-6 MAC). The Bobcats beat Western Michigan 90-74 at home Tuesday and have won four of their past six games.

“These kids put their heart and soul into what they’re doing,” Zeigler said. “Hopefully, we’re going to be able to right this ship and turn the page and look back on it as something that only makes us stronger.”

NOTES

A winter storm warning in the Mount Pleasant area might have affected attendance. More than 3,000 were at CMU’s last home game, but only 760 braved the weather Tuesday.

Bitzer’s first basket of the game gave him 1,000 career points. He became the 26th player in CMU history to reach the milestone.

Akron played without leading scorer Brett McKnight (10.2 points per game), who was suspended for the game because of disciplinary reasons.

E-mail the author: Daniel Monson