Akron 74, CMU 64: Strong effort not enough for men's basketball as losing streak hits five games
The effort was there Saturday from the Central Michigan men's basketball team, but it just wasn't enough to overcome an early double-digit deficit against the top dog in the Mid-American Conference.
Down 31-13 with six minutes to go in the first half, CMU began digging itself out of a whole in the second half. The Chippewas whittled the Zips lead to single digits before going on an 8-3 run and pulling within three following a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Derek Jackson with 3:21 remaining in the game.
But just as quickly as the team got itself back into the game, MAC-leading Akron rattled off eight consecutive points, highlighted by an offensive rebound and subsequent three-point play by center Zeke Marshall following a missed free throw.
Akron, shooting nearly 49 percent, held on to beat the Chippewas 74-64 before 1,787 at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant.
"It's a game of moments, of instances," said CMU head coach Ernie Zeigler. "We're not tough enough in that moment to make those tough plays, be it at the rebounds or knocking down a foul shot to cut it to one or two. It's (about) seizing those moments."
Jackson, who scored a game-high 21 points, led an almost exclusive three-pronged CMU scoring attack that included fellow sophomore guard Trey Zeigler (16 points, nine rebounds) and freshman Austin McBroom (14 points, six rebounds). But it wasn't until others got in the mix that drew the CMU offense closer.
Free throws by junior forward Olivier Mbaigoto with 11:43 to go in the game cut Akron's lead to 52-44. Mbaigoto followed up minutes later with a 3-pointer, again pulling the Chippewas to within eight. Mbaigoto scored eight points in the game, while junior forward Andre Coimbra added five points, the only other CMU scorers.
The Chippewas shot 33.3 percent in the game, the fifth consecutive game they have shot below 40 percent.
"If you look at the stat sheet tonight, 2-for-10 (Coimbra), 6-for-17 (Zeigler), 2-for-9 (Mbaigoto) ... you just have to have some other guys give you some balance," Ernie Zeigler said. "These guys are working at it, and we're going to continue to nurture and try and develop that consistent fourth or fifth guy in the rotation."
Zeigler also voiced his displeasure with the discrepancy in fouls called. CMU was whistled for eight more fouls than Akron (16), sending the Zips to the foul line 36 times. Akron converted 22 of those. The Chippewas, however, were 11-of-13 from the line.
"Those are numbers that you usually see when you're on the road," Zeigler said. "But I guess that comes with wearing that bulls-eye with being the No. 1 team in the conference... to go on the road and be able to get those type of opportunities."
Marshall and forward Nick Harney each scored 13 points for Akron (14-7, 6-1 MAC).
The loss extends the Chippewas losing streak to five games, dropping them to 7-13 overall and 2-5 in the MAC. CMU has not won a game in more than two weeks, a close 60-56 win against Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti.
And it doesn't get any easier in the next week. CMU welcomes in Kent State (14-6, 4-3 MAC) on Tuesday, which beat Toledo with ease Saturday on the road, and travels to Ohio next Saturday.
"We are a young team," Jackson said. "We have to get off to better starts in both halves. It seems like we're always coming back, itching back.
"It's hard. We just have to keep fighting, and preparing (for Kent State). Hopefully we can get off this losing streak."
Tipoff Tuesday against the Golden Flashes is set for 7 p.m. at McGuirk Arena. The game will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio.
