Akron basketball score vs. Toledo | Zips rally for MAC win with huge second half

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Akron basketball score vs. Toledo | Zips rally for MAC win with huge second half

Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Wed, Jan 15, 2025 ·

9 min read

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The Akron Zips and Toledo Rockets met Tuesday night, and UA climbed out of a 12-point halftime hole to prevail 85-78 in a clash between Mid-American Conference men's basketball powers at Rhodes Arena.

UA outscored Toledo 55-36 in the second half. Akron is now 8-0 at home this season, remains unbeaten in the MAC and owns a four-game winning streak. Toledo had its three-game winning streak snapped and suffered its first MAC loss of the season.

Here is how reigning MAC Tournament champion Akron (11-5, 4-0) versus four-time defending MAC regular-season champ Toledo (9-7, 3-1) unfolded through our updates.

Akron Zips column: UA men's basketball team's culture set by coach John Groce has program in good spot again

Nate Johnson scores a game-high 28 points as the Akron Zips defeat the Toledo Rockets 85-78

Akron junior guard Nate Johnson dominated. He compiled a game-high 28 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. The 28 points and nine rebounds are career highs for Johnson.

Akron junior forward Amani Lyles added 16 points, all after halftime. Senior guard Shammah Scott had 12 points.

University of Akron's Nate Johnson puts up a shot over Toledo's Sam Lewis in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena. — Akron's Nate Johnson puts up a shot over Toledo's Sam Lewis on Jan. 14, 2015, in Akron.

Senior guard Isaiah Adams led Toledo with 17 points.

This is the second game this season in which Akron overcame a double-digit deficit in the first half to win. UA trailed 17-14 at Bowling Green and won 71-68 on Jan. 3.

Akron finished with a 41-18 advantage in points off the bench against Toledo, a notable factor in the Zips earning a 4-0 start in MAC play for the second season in a row. It was the fifth game this season in which UA has had at least 40 bench points and the 12th with at least 30.

Akron Zips trying to hold on. The Zips are ahead 81-76 with 1:04 left in the second half

Toledo made two 3-pointers to cut its deficit to 81-76 with 1:05 left in the first half. Akron called a timeout a second later. Sophomore guard Sam Lewis and senior guard Isaiah Adams made the shots for the Rockets.

Akron leads 73-62 with 4:27 left, and Nate Johnson is leading the way

University of Akron's Nate Johnson drives past Toledo's Javan Simmons on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

This certainly looks like the Nate Johnson game. He threw down a ferocious fast-break dunk in traffic to give Akron a 68-60 advantage with 6:46 left in the second half and drained a 3-pointer with 4:27 left to lift the Zips to a 73-62 lead with 4:27 remaining.

Between those two field goals, Johnson assisted on a layup by freshman wing Marvin Musiime-Kamali.

Johnson had a game-high 24 points at this stage.

Akron builds 61-52 vs. Toledo with 9:11 left in the second half

Just past the midway point of the second half, Akron has outscored Toledo 31-10 after halftime.

Lyles made layups on consecutive UA possessions to give the Zips a 61-52 cushion and prompt Toledo to call timeout with 9:11 remaining.

More Akron Zips basketball news: UA great Enrique Freeman feels love from Indiana Pacers during his high school hoops jersey retirement in Cleveland

Zips lead Rockets 54-50 with 11:32 remaining in the second half

With 11:32 left in the first half, Akron led Toledo 52-20 during a media timeout. The Zips tacked on two successful foul shots by freshman guard Sharron Young coming out of the timeout to go ahead 54-50.

The Zips took their first lead of the game when Scott made a fast-break layup with 13:27 remaining. Nate Johnson assisted to Scott on the play after Johnson had stolen the ball from Toledo.

Then with 12:34 left, Johnson made a layup to give Akron a 52-48 lead.

Zips tie score 48-48 with back-to-back layups by Amani Lyles

Lyles made a layup on back-to-back possessions to tie the score 48-48 with 13:54 remaining in the second half.

Toledo called timeout a second later.

University of Akron's Seth Wilson puts up a 3-point shot as Toledo's Javan Simmons defends on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena. — Akron's Seth Wilson puts up a 3-point shot as Toledo's Javan Simmons defends on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron.

Akron outscores Toledo 11-6 to begin the second half, and the Zips are behind 48-41 with 15:54 left

Senior guard Seth Wilson gave the Zips a spark coming out of halftime by making two 3-pointers after going scoreless in the first half. Wilson's six points from those shots helped UA outscore Toledo 11-6 to begin the second half.

During a timeout with 15:54 remaining, the Zips were behind 48-41.

Akron trails Toledo 42-30 at halftime

If you thought Akron would take a lead in the first half, well, never mind. The Zips were behind 42-30 at halftime.

After Akron had reduced Toledo's advantage to 29-28, the Rockets went on a 6-0 run. Nate Johnson had a putback to end the run and make the score 35-30 in Toledo's favor with 1:32 left in the first half.

Then the rest of the half went off the rails for Akron.

With 40.4 seconds left, Toledo sophomore forward Javan Simmons made two fouls shots, giving the Rockets a 37-30 lead.

And things got really strange with 19.4 seconds left.

University of Akron head coach John Groce argues a first half technical foul call with an official during the game against Toledo on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Toledo sophomore guard Sonny Wilson registered a steal and drew a foul on a fast break from Scott. Scott then received a technical foul apparently for discussing the initial foul with an official. Then UA coach John Groce received a technical foul of his own for words with an official. The sequence resulted in Toledo taking six consecutive fouls shots. Junior guard Seth Hubbard made four and Wilson made one of his two attempts.

The five points gave Toledo a 42-30 lead, and the Rockets led by the same score at halftime.

In the first half, Nate Johnson had a game-high 13 points. Scott had eight.

For Toledo, Adams had a team-high eight points.

Akron went 13-of-39 shooting from the field (3 of 16 on 3-pointers) in the first half. Toledo went 13-of-30 shooting from the floor (3 of 7 on 3s).

University of Akron Zips flirting with taking the lead for the first time vs. University of Toledo Rockets

With 4:38 left in the first half, Scott nailed a 3-pointer to cut Toledo's edge to 29-28.

The Zips trailed by a point during a media timeout with 3:57 left in the first half and have yet to lead the Rockets.

Akron Zips fight back again and trail Toledo 27-23 with 6:20 left in the first half

Toledo called a timeout with 6:20 left in the first half after Akron had charged back to slice its deficit to 27-23. A second earlier, Toledo left Musiime-Kamali wide open under the basket for a dunk on an assist from junior guard Tavari Johnson.

At this juncture, Nate Johnson had a game-high nine points.

Toledo's Grgur Brcic has his shot blocked by University of Akron's Shammah Scott on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron trails 21-10 with 11:51 left in the first half with Toledo on a 9-0 run

After Akron fell behind 12-4 out of the gate, the Zips rallied and cut their deficit to 12-10 when junior guard Bowen Hardman drained a 3-pointer with 14:33 left in the first half.

But Toledo proceeded to go on a 9-0 run and seize a 21-10 advantage. Toledo led by the same score during a media timeout with 11:51 remaining in the first half. Akron's defense simply was not good enough in the early stages of the game.

Toledo jumps out to 12-4 lead vs. Akron with 15:38 left in the first half

Toledo began the game 4-of-7 shooting from the field while Akron started 2-of-8 shooting from the floor.

The difference resulted in Toledo jumping out to a 12-4 lead, prompting UA to call timeout with 15:38 remaining in the first half.

Here is some pregame information:

Who are the statistical leaders for the University of Akron men's basketball team?

Junior guard Tavari Johnson leads Akron in scoring (12.3 points per game) and assists (3.9 per game).

Junior guard Nate Johnson is second on the team in points (11.7 a game) and assists (3.5 per game). He also leads UA in steals (1.6 per game).

Senior guard Isaiah Gray (10.2 points per game) and freshman guard Sharron Young (9.3 points per game) rank third and fourth in scoring for the Zips.

Senior forward James Okonkwo leads Akron in rebounds (8.3 per game) and blocked shots (1.1 a game). He also averages 8.1 points per game.

Through its first 15 games this season, Akron averaged 82.1 points and allowed an average of 73.3 points for a scoring margin of 8.8.

University of Akron's Isaiah Gray brings the ball up court against Central Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Who are the statistical leaders for the Toledo Rockets in men's basketball?

Sophomore guard Sonny Wilson leads Toledo in scoring (15.3 points per game) and has recorded a team-high four 20-point outings this season. He also is UT's leader in assists (3.3 a game) and ranks second among the Rockets in steals (1 per game).

Sophomore guard Sam Lewis (14.3 points per game) and sophomore forward Javan Simmons (11.7 points per game) are also averaging double figures in scoring for Toledo. Lewis leads Toledo in rebounding (5.7 per game).

Through its first 15 games this season, Toledo averaged 77.3 points and allowed an average of 77.2 points for a scoring margin of 0.1.

University of Akron coach John Groce encourages the Zips during a game against Central Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron.

What is the history between the University of Akron and University of Toledo in men's basketball?

Akron trails 42-30 in its all-time series with Toledo. The Zips have lost 13 of their past 17 games against the Rockets.

Last season, Akron beat Toledo 77-70 on Feb. 2, but UA later lost 72-64 on Feb. 20 at Toledo.

In addition to Tuesday's game, Akron and Toledo will face one another on March 4 at UT.

More Akron Zips men's basketball: Seth Wilson enjoys return to Northeast Ohio at UA

Zips broadcast information. How can I watch on TV, listen on radio or stream the Akron, Toledo game?

The Akron-Toledo game can be watched on ESPN+, with Michael Reghi serving as the play-by-play announcer and Jeff Phelps the analyst. It can be heard on local radio via WHLO (640-AM), with Dave Skoczen doing play by play and Joe Dunn analyzing.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron men's basketball score, Zips rally for MAC win vs Toledo Rockets

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