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Akron Zips sports Jan. 20-26 | Tavari Johnson, Nate Johnson lead men's basketball to win
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- Akron Zips sports Jan. 20-26 | Tavari Johnson, Nate Johnson lead men's basketball to win
The University of Akron men's basketball team dominated host Buffalo in a 90-58 win Tuesday night at Alumni Arena.
Junior guard Tavari Johnson totaled 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in 20 minutes as Akron (13-5, 6-0) remained tied atop the Mid-American Conference standings with Miami of Ohio (14-4, 6-0). Miami beat visiting Bowling Green 84-76 Tuesday.
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Akron has won six games in a row to begin MAC play for the second season in a row and will host Miami of Ohio at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Akron's Tavari Johnson shoots a 3-pointer over Central Michigan's Cayden Vasko on Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron.
Johnson made 8 of 13 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Akron redshirt junior guard Nate Johnson totaled 18 points and nine rebounds against Buffalo (6-12, 1-5) and senior forward James Okonkwo contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
Senior Isaiah Gray and redshirt freshman Marvin Musiime-Kamali scored 10 points apiece for the Zips. Musiime-Kamali set a career high in scoring.
Zips junior Bowen Hardman scored six points, freshman Sharron Young and senior Evan Wilson each had five points and junior Amani Lyles recorded a career high four blocks.
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"We got contributions from a lot of different guys and I thought our defense was good," Akron coach John Groce said to Zips radio broadcasters David Skoczen and Joe Dunn after the win.
"... We had a good disposition coming out of the half. We wanted to keep our foot on the gas and no breaks. We had that look in our eye. I love that look, but I thought we were a little sloppy and careless with the ball [with 19 turnovers]."
Akron shot 57.4% from the field, including 52% from 3-point range, and had 21 assists.
Akron guard Tavari Johnson drives past Northern Kentucky guard Trey Robinson on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Akron.
"Our team as a whole shoots a lot of 3s, and teams know that," Tavari Johnson said to Skoczen and Dunn. "When you have people that can shoot and drive, it is kind of hard to keep us off the [3-point] line."
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Akron's win featured runs of 13-0 and 14-0 in the first half and 9-0 in the second half.
The Zips have scored 85 or more points in each of their last five games and are 10-0 when doing so this season.
Miami tops Akron women's basketball team
Miami topped Akron 76-54 Wednesday in Oxford.
Redshirt senior Shelbee Brown paced Akron (9-10, 3-4) with 15 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Zips senior Zakia Rasheed scored 13 points and freshman Ni'Rah Clark added 12 points.
Enjulina Gonzalez led Miami (11-6, 4-3) with 15 points. Ilse de Vries had 14 points, six rebounds and six steals, Amber Tretter contributed 13 points and seven rebounds and Maya Chandler scored 10 points.
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Tavari Johnson, Nate Johnson and Seth Wilson lead Akron to men's basketball win over Miami
Akron hosted and dominated Miami on Saturday in a matchup between the top two men's basketball teams in the Mid-American Conference at Rhodes Arena.
Akron compiled a fast start and rolled to a 102-75 win before a crowd of 2,834.
Reigning MAC Tournament champion Akron improved to 14-5 overall and 7-0 in the MAC. Miami dropped to 14-5 overall and 6-1 in the MAC.
Akron is 7-0 in the MAC for the second time under coach John Groce as the 2024-2025 team joins the 2023-2024 team. The Zips were 7-0 in the MAC twice under former coach Keith Dambrot, starting the 2012-2013 season with a 13-0 league record and the 2016-2017 season with a 9-0 league mark.
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Tavari Johnson scored 15 points and had six assists to lead Akron. Seth Wilson and Nate Johnson each had 14 points and two assists. Nate Johnson also grabbed seven rebounds and had four steals.
Akron's Isaiah Gray had 13 points, four rebounds and three assists. Bowen Hardman scored 12 points, Amani Lyles totaled 10 points, five rebounds and three steals. Shammah Scott had eight points, nine rebounds and four assists. Sharron Young scored seven points.
Miami's leading scorers were Peter Suder (18 points), Brant Byers (14 points) and Evan Ipsaro (12 points).
Akron shot 36 of 65 from the field, including 15 of 34 from beyond the 3-point arc, and 15 of 19 from the free throw line. The Zips finished with an edge in rebounds (41-24) and assists (21-15).
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Miami shot 28 of 60 from the field, including 8 of 25 from beyond the 3-point arc, and 11 of 15 from the free throw line.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips sports for the week of Jan. 20-26
