The final four minutes of Friday night's men's basketball game at Rhodes Arena belonged to the University of Akron .
That's when Akron 's one-point lead ballooned into a double-digit advantage en route to a 72-54 victory over Southern Mississippi in a Mid-American Conference-Sun Belt Challenge game .
The Zips (2-0) ended the game on a 17-0 run to win, building on Monday's season-opening 81-75 win over host South Dakota State .
"We are not at our potential, but we are working on a lot and I think we have a really good team," Akron senior Enrique Freeman said . "I think we have such a deep roster. ... Definitely, two good wins that we are going to learn from. I think we did a lot of good things and a lot of things we can clean up. I definitely think these two games are huge for us."
Southern Miss senior Austin Crowley made a 3-pointer to trim Akron's lead to 55-54 with just over four minutes remaining.
Akron responded with six free throws and a 3-pointer by senior Greg Tribble , two free throws and a layup by Freeman and a slam dunk and jumper by sophomore Nate Johnson .
"The first thing that comes to mind is definitely just [manning] up," Freeman said. "Guys felt the pressure. This is our home gym. First game. We can't lose. I think guys stepped up and made big-time plays."
Akron coach John Groce appreciated his players' work ethic.
"Heck of a week for us in terms of results," Groce said. "We played two quality opponents, one on the road and one at home. First week. We haven't done that the previous six years in terms of two games like that in Week 1. I thought our older team could handle it. As I watched both teams on tape leading into both games, I thought 'What were you thinking?'
" South Dakota State was 151-9 at home [in their past 160 home games] and then Southern Miss won their league last year and was picked second behind a very good James Madison team, as we found out this week with their two wins [over Michigan State and Kent State ]. I thought this was a battle. I thought it took us a while to figure out their zone and their athleticism and length. It was hard to simulate in practice. They are so big, fast, athletic and fast twitch."
Crowley led Southern Miss with 17 points, senior Donovan Ivory scored 10 points, senior Victor Iwuakor added eight points and senior Mo Arnold had seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
"Our running game really helped us early while we were struggling with half-court offense," Groce said. "I thought second half our half-court offense was a lot better. We were sloppy, but the good news is we have right now from a culture standpoint, attitude, effort, toughness and togetherness."
Johnson led Akron with 17 points and Freeman totaled 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals.
Tribble finished with 13 points and six rebounds, seniors Kaleb Thornton and Mikal Dawson scored eight points apiece and senior Sammy Hunter scored seven points.
Groce liked how Tribble battled through foul trouble to be "absolutely spectacular on both ends of the floor."
The Zips are undefeated without senior Ali Ali , whose eligibility has not been finalized by the NCAA after he transferred back to Akron from Butler .
"I see a whole bunch of players who are hungry," Johnson said. "Losing X [Xavier Castaneda to graduation] is a big key, but I feel like we gained a whole bunch of players that can contribute in a different way. In that last little stretch, they were just telling me to kill. Keep killing. And when G came in, he contributed."
Johnson was a regular at the rim with two hands, including on an alley-oop pass from Thornton in the first half.
"Big-time shots today from Nate," Freeman said. "Nate's been grinding, working in the summer. He is an elite defender. I see great things out of Nate."
Dawson, Thornton and Shammah Scott are providing a spark off the bench behind starters Freeman, Hunter, Tribble, Nate Johnson and Tavari Johnson.
"All-around, I feel great," said Dawson, who missed last season with an Achilles injury. "I am happy to be back on the court, back with the team. I am ready for what's next."
Five Akron players scored in double figures at South Dakota State with Dawson leading the way with 19 points.
"Mike is incredible," Freeman said. "For someone who was stripped away from playing basketball, and to come back and not even look like you were away, I think that is amazing. Mike is a great teammate and a great brother. I am just really happy for him."
Groce earned his 300th win as a college head coach and 118th as Akron's leader Friday. He is in his 16th season as a head coach with four seasons at Ohio University, five seasons at Illinois and this being his seventh season at Akron.
"It means I have been doing this a while and it means I have coached a lot of really good players, great players," Groce said. "It has been a heck of a ride."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Nate Johnson, Enrique Freeman lead Akron basketball past Southern Miss
