Akron basketball score, recap vs. Central Michigan | Zips win MAC home opener

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Akron basketball score, recap vs. Central Michigan | Zips win MAC home opener

Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal · Akron Beacon Journal

Wed, Jan 8, 2025 ·

9 min read

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The University of Akron men's basketball team returned to Rhodes Arena for its Mid-American Conference home opener Tuesday night against Central Michigan .

After the reigning MAC Tournament champion Akron Zips (9-5, 2-0) opened conference play with a win at Bowling Green , they pulled away to an 87-71 win over CMU.

Here's how Tuesday night's game unfolded through our live updates :

Michigan's Jakobi Heady defends a 3-point shot by University of Akron's Shammah Scott on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron tops Central Michigan in MAC men's basketball game

Akron used its athleticism and 3-point shooting to win 87-71 against a taller Central Michigan team.

"Obviously a good win in Round 2," Akron coach John Groce said. "I thought offensively we played pretty well thoughout the entire 40 minutes. We were very unselfish and had good ball movement."

Senior Seth Wilson , a 6-foot-2 guard, made 6 of 12 3 point shots to lead the Zips with a career-high 18 points and grabbed five rebounds. Wilson was happy with his performance and praised his teammates.

"These guys found me and got me the ball and I just tried to make a shot to help us win," Wilson said. "... These guys have got faith in me, coach has got faith in me and they just tell me to keep shooting. Stop pump-faking."

University of Akron's Nate Johnson throws down a thunderous second half dunk over Central Michigan's Ugnius Jarusevicius on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena. — Akron's Nate Johnson throws down a thunderous second-half dunk over Central Michigan's Ugnius Jarusevicius on Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.

Nate Johnson , a 6-3 redshirt junior guard, threw down two impressive slam dunks and finished with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists for Akron.

"Today was a game that we look forward to have more of down the road with multiple guys in double figures and moving the ball," Nate Johnson said.

Guards Shammah Scott (6-2 senior), Sharron Young (6-0 freshman) and Tavari Johnson (5-11 junior) each scored 12 points and 6-2 senior guard Isaiah Gray contributed 11 points and four assists.

"The fact that we are moving the ball is a great feeling because we have a lot of weapons on offense," Scott said.

University of Akron's James Okonkwo blocks the shot at the rim of Central Michigans Mohammad Habhab on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron 6-7 junior Amani Lyles scored five points, 6-3 junior Bowen Hardman added three points and 6-8 senior James Okonkwo totaled one point, eight rebounds and three blocks.

"That dude is a one-man wrecking crew in that paint," Wilson said of Okonkwo. "He does a lot. It means a lot when he goes in their and gets boards, blocks shots and uses all five fouls. He controls the paint."

Said Groce of Okonkwo: "He is super active. He just makes those plays. A couple of those blocks were like whoa."

Tavari Johnson, Lyles and 6-6 redshirt freshman Marvin Musiime-Kamali each had three assists. Scott and Young both had two steals.

University of Akron's Sharron Young is fouled by Central Michigan's Damarion Bonds as he drives to the basket on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Central Michigan (6-8, 0-2) was paced by 6-4 junior Kyler VanderJagt (20 points), 6-10 junior Ugnius Jarusevicius (14 points), 6-6 senior Jakobi Heady (14 points), 6-2 senior Anthony Pritchard (13 points, five assists) and 6-6 sophomore Cayden Vasko (six points).

"We knew they were a aggressive team and a tough team, so we wanted to try to set the tone early and be tougher than they were and force them to shoot tough 2s like we try to do against everyone and limit the 3s and limit their scoring in the paint," Nate Johnson said.

Said Scott: "Even though we are definitely undersized in a lot of positions, we have a lot of toughness and I feel like that is mainly all you need. It doesn't really matter about the size. As long as you are tough, you can guard and play against anybody."

Central Michigan's Ugnius Jarusevicius and University of Akron's James Okonkwo scramble after a loose ball on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron matched its season-low for turnovers (eight), its season-high for made 3s (18) and finished with 21 assists.

"I feel like we are good, but we have got a lot to improve on," Wilson said. "The beauty about us is you can't key on nobody. On any night, somebody can go off and get buckets."

Groce was happy to see "contributions from everybody."

"Twenty one assists on 30 field goals, a 70 percent assist rate, is exceptional," Groce said. "I was pretty pleased with that. Defensively, I thought we were good for about 25 minutes and then I thought the last 15 minutes we played the score and kept trying to shoot it in and outscore them. I wasn't really fired up about that. I told them after the game you gotta play for 40 minutes in this league."

University of Akron head coach John Groce encourages the Zips during the game against Central Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron, Ohio, at James A. Rhodes Arena. — University of Akron coach John Groce encourages the Zips during a game against Central Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Akron.

Akron Zips closing in on a victory over Central Michigan

Anthony Pritchard makes two 3-pointers and Kyler VanderJagt adds one 3 for Central Michigan, but Akron leads 81-64 with less than four minutes go in the second half.

Seth Wilson made another 3 a moment ago and has 15 points for Akron.

Nate Johnson has 13 points, and Shammah Scott and Sharron Young each have 12 points for Akron. Isaiah Gray has 11 points and Tavari Johnson is at 10 points.

Akron keeps scoring against Central Michigan in second half of MAC basketball

Nate Johnson with a slam dunk and Amani Lyles swishes a 3-pointer to give Akron a 76-55 lead with 6:24 to go in the second half. This is Akron's largest lead of the night.

Akron basketball running away from Central Michigan in second half

Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson make shots in the paint and Akron leads Central Michigan 71-53.

7:42 left to play. Timeout on the floor.

Shammah Scott and Seth Wilson each have 12 points for Akron. Nate Johnson and Isaiah Gray are at 11 points apiece and Sharron Young and Tavari Johnson are both at 10 points.

Akron builds comfortable lead against Central Michigan in second half of MAC game

Shammah Scott swishes a 3-pointer, Amani Lyles makes a jumper and Sharron Young makes a layup to give Akron a 63-47 lead.

Timeout on the floor with 11:33 to go in the second half.

Seth Wilson and Shammah Scott each have 12 points for Akron

Akron extends lead over Central Michigan basketball in second half

Akron leads Central Michigan 56-41 with 15:26 to go in the second half.

Seth Wilson, Tavari Johnson and Isaiah Gray have made 3-pointers during a 15-3 run to start the second half. Gray has also made four free thows and Nate Johnson contributed a layup.

Wilson leads Akron with 12 points, Gray has 11 points and Nate Johnson and Shammah Scott each have nine points.

Ugnius Jarusevicius has 10 points for CMU and Kyler VanderJagt has nine points.

Akron men's basketball leads Central Michigan at halftime of MAC game

Akron leads Central Michigan 41-38 at halftime. Shammah Scott and Seth Wilson have both made three 3-pointers and lead Akron with nine points. Nate Johnson has seven points for the Zips and Sharron Young is at six points.

Ugnius Jarusevicius leads CMU with 10 points, Kyler VanderJagt has nine points, Cayden Vasko has seven points and Jakobi Heady is at six points.

Akron maintains lead over Central Michigan in first half

Akron leads Central Michigan 35-29 with 3:54 to go in the first half. Shammah Scott paces Akron with nine points, Nate Johnson has seven points and Sharron Young is at six points.

Ugnius Jarusevicius leads CMU with 10 points.

Akron has led by seven points twice in the first half.

Shammah Scott guides Akron basketball to lead over Central Michigan in first half

Shammah Scott made his third 3-pointer of the first half to give Akron a 27-20 lead over Central Michigan with 8:02 to go in the first half.

Kyler VanderJagt made a shot to trim CMU's deficit to 27-20. Timeout on the court with 7:24 remaining in the first half.

Akron leads Central Michigan midway through first half

Akron leads Central Michigan 16-13 with 11:21 remaining in the first half.

Zips coach John Groce mixing and match with a different starting five. 10 players have logged minutes for Akron.

Shammah Scott has made two 3-pointers and leads Akron with six points. Nate Johnson has five points.

Akron, Central Michigan basketball tied in first half of MAC game

Akron and Central Michigan are tied at 9-9 with 15:03 to go in the first half.

Nate Johnson, Shammah Scott and Tavari Johnson have each made a 3-pointer for Akron.

Ugnius Jarusevicius has three points for CMU.

Akron guard Seth Wilson readies a shot against Northern Kentucky during the game at the James A. Rhodes Arena on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. — Akron guard Seth Wilson readies a shot against Northern Kentucky on Dec. 3, 2024, in Akron.

Akron Zips men's basketball starters against Central Michigan

Nate Johnson
Tavari Johnson
Isaiah Gray
Seth Wilson
James Okonkwo

Central Michigan men's basketball starters vs. Akron

Jakobi Heady
Cayden Vasko
Kyler VanderJagt
Ugnius Jarusevicius
Anthony Pritchard

Sharron Young, Shammah Scott, Isaiah Gray lead Akron to win at Bowling Green

Akron overcame a poor start Friday to open Mid-American Conference play with a 71-68 win over host Bowling Green.

The Falcons built a 10-0 lead with 17:23 remaining in the first half and led 17-4 at 15:03, but the Zips rallied with reserves Sharron Young and Shammah Scott and starter Isaiah Gray playing key roles.

Young finished with 17 points, four rebounds and two steals in 18 minutes for Akron (8-5, 1-0). Scott added 11 points and Gray contributed 10 points and two assists.

Akron compiled a 19-9 run to erase a 59-52 deficit with 6:47 left in the second half. Scott made two 3s during the closing run and Young and Gray each added one.

Scott's final 3 tied the score 65-65 with 2:14 left and Young's final 3 gave the Zips a 68-65 lead with 1:10 to go.

Akron's Tavari Johnson totaled nine points and five assists, Nate Johnson had seven points, two steals and two assists, and Bowen Hardman scored six points.

Zips post players James Okonkwo and Amani Lyles also made an impact. Okonkwo had four points, nine rebounds, three blocks, three assists and two steals and Lyles added four points, six rebounds and two blocks.

Trey Thomas (19 points), Derrick Butler (15), Marcus Johnson (14) and Javontae Campbell (11) all scored in double figures for Bowling Green.

Jakobi Hardy, Anthony Pritchard and Ugnius Jarusevicius lead Central Michigan basketball into Akron

Jakobi Hardy scored 15 points Saturday to lead Central Michigan against Ohio .

CMU's Anthony Pritchard contributed 13 points and Ugnius Jarusevicius added 11 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double and his third of the season.

Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips men's basketball score vs. Central Michigan recap

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