Akron Zips lose in Overtime to Miami (OH) 57-52

The Akron Zips Mens Basketball team fell to the Miami (OH) Redhawks Saturday night 57-52 in overtime.

The loss brings Akron to 8-6 in the Mid American Conference East, tied for 3rd place with Buffalo. The win for the Redhawks brings their conference record to 6-8.

Kwan Cheatham would lead the Zips in scoring with 14 points, while Pat Forsythe grabbed 12 rebounds in the contest for the Blue and Gold.

Miami (OH) would be led by Eric Washington, who finished with 21 points.

10 minutes into the first half, Akron would lead Miami (OH) 17-6, capped off by a Noah Robotham 3-point shot.

The Redhawks would soar back into the game before the half expired, as a 15-5 run by Miami(OH) would send us to halftime, 23-22, Redhawks.

Moments after the 2nd half began, Redhawk's Eric Washington would hit a lay up, but Noah Robotham would respond quick with a beyond the arc shot to tie the game at 25 a piece.

Deji Ibitayo would build off the momentum with a dunk that would allow Akron to regain the lead, 27-25. Chris Bryant of the Redhawks, however, would mirror Ibitayo with a dunk of his own to tie the game once again.

With 5:34 left in the contest, Geovonie McKnight delivered a key layup to take the 1 point lead for the Redhawks, but :40 seconds later, Noah Robotham, once again would hit a three to return the lead to the Zips.

The game was tied with seconds left, but Antino Jackson would strike a layup that put the Zips up by two. However, Eric Washington would send us into overtime by getting to the free throw line and knocking down both free throws.

Akron had no answer in overtime, as they only made one shot in the extra minutes. Miami (OH) would cruise themselves to a win, and improve their win streak to three.

The Zips hit the road in their next contest as they face the Buffalo Bulls. Game-time is set on Tuesday, February 24th at 7:00 p.m.