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Xavier Castaneda leads Akron men's basketball to Senior Night win over Ball State
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- Xavier Castaneda leads Akron men's basketball to Senior Night win over Ball State
University of Akron men's basketball players Xavier Castaneda and Trendon Hankerson celebrated Senior Night in style with a comeback victory Tuesday night at Rhodes Arena.
Castaneda scored a game-high 29 points to lead Akron to an 87-83 win over Ball State to lock up at least the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland.
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"Two great guys in Hankerson and Castaneda," Akron coach John Groce said. "Special people. Not just players. Great in the locker room. Great students. Those guys are big-time dudes. It has been a real privilege to coach them. Great to win on Senior Night to kind of send them out with a bang.
"I told the guys to finish 15-1 at home is a special accomplishment. How many teams this year out of 368 will finish either undefeated or with one loss at home? There are not very many. There are a lot of people that are involved in that."
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Akron's Xavier Castaneda drives past Ball State's Jaylin Sellers, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, at Rhodes Arena.
Castaneda scored 21 points in the second half as Akron (21-9, 13-4) erased a five-point halftime deficit.
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"X has improved a lot over the two years here," Groce said. "He is one of the all-time great guards that have ever played at Akron in the Division I era. I think it is obvious. I think of guys like Dru Joyce. I think of guys like Loren Cristian Jackson. X is in that breath of guys.
"He has had an unbelievable two years with 24 wins last year, a [MAC Tournament] championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance. This year, another 20-plus wins. He is a winner. He is a competitor. He is a good student who got his degree and started his master's. He is a great leader by example."
Castaneda made 7 of 18 shots from the field, including 5 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc, and 10 of 10 free throws with his parents, Misael Castaneda and Renee Jones, in attendance.
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"I saw him last year when I was an assistant at UCLA [when the Zips and Bruins met in the NCAA Tournament]," first-year Ball State coach Michael Lewis said of Castaneda. "I have had nightmares of him ever since.
"All three of our perimeter players at UCLA [ Tyger Campbell , Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Johnny Juzang] were finalists, so they were top five, for positional awards a year ago, and we had no answer for Xavier. That speaks to what I think of that kid. … He is out of eligibility, right? He went through Senior Night tonight? He's done? I will a throw a little party when I get home.
"He is an exceptional player. He controls the whole game. You can't speed him up. He can shoot 3s with range and he can shoot 3s off the bounce going either direction. He is a really good college guard."
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Akron's Enrique Freeman drives to the basket against Ball State on Feb. 28 at Rhodes Arena.
UA junior Sammy Hunter made 6 of 8 3-pointers en route to 25 points and junior Enrique Freeman contributed 24 points and 12 rebounds.
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"We played for them," Freeman said of Castaneda and Hankerson. "We didn't want to lose for them."
Lewis, a standout guard at Indiana University under legendary coach Bob Knight from 1997-2000, was disappointed to see three Akron players "just go crazy."
"You are going to expect that out of Freeman and Castaneda, but the one that disappoints me is how we let Sammy get loose," Lewis said.
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Akron's Sammy Hunter celebrates sinking a 3-pointer against Ball State, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, at Rhodes Arena.
Jalen Windham scored 19 points to pace Ball State (20-10, 11-6). Basheer Jihad (17 points) and Demarius Jacobs (16 points) also reached double digits for the Cardinals.
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The Zips put together a 12-0 run to take a 68-63 lead with 5:07 remaining in the second half. Freeman started the spurt with a layup, Castaneda made two 3-pointers and two free throws and Hunter netted two free throws.
"Coach always talks about fighting back and sticking with it," Hunter said. "That is what we did tonight."
The Cardinals drew even at 68-68 less than a minute later, but Freeman dropped in two layups to give the Zips a lead they did not relinquish.
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Akron's Enrique Freeman puts up a shot against Ball State, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, at Rhodes Arena.
"I appreciate everything I have done at Akron and everybody who has supported me, as far as the coaches and extra staff," said Castaneda, who has 1,071 points in 62 games with the Zips.
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"This is a great way to end it [the home schedule]. We didn't play well in the first half, but we came back and fought hard in the second half. … Shots weren't falling early, but down the stretch we got some stops and the ball started going in the hoop. Sammy was definitely a key part for us."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
Akron head coach John Groce argues a call during a game against Ball State, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, at Rhodes Arena.
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This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Xavier Castaneda leads Akron men's basketball to win over Ball State
