By STEVE DIMATTEO
FOXSPORTSOHIO.COM
The Akron Zips are still figuring things out without point guard Alex Abreu, but they will happily continue that process in the NCAA Tournament.
With four players in double figures, including 13 points and ten rebounds from tournament MVP Demetrius Treadwell, Akron played suffocating defense on the Ohio Bobcats in a 65-46 win.
Things weren’t exactly going Akron’s way in the first half, though. Early on, the Bobcats were the ones playing a swarming defense, double-teaming center Zeke Marshall when possible and, most importantly, keeping him out of the paint. They cut through the lane with ease and went right at the seven-footer.
The evidence of that was Reggie Keely scoring 14 points in the first half.
Ohio also forced ten turnovers and went into the break with a 29-26 lead.
Then the wheels fell off and a lid was seemingly placed over the hoop for the Bobcats.
The biggest problem for Ohio – and its worst-case scenario – is that D.J. Cooper, the MAC’s Player of the Year, simply could not do anything all night. He finished 0-8 from the field, scoring only three points in the game. As a whole, the Bobcats made only one three-pointer on 20 attempts, and would finish the game shooting 33 percent overall.
“We couldn’t convert shots the whole game and we just let one end of the floor affect the other,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “We let our frustration with our inability to make shots or finish plays affect the defense.”
“Sometimes you just can’t explain it. There’s no schematic thing, there’s no adjustment. We had the same looks in the second half that we had in the first half. It’s about finishing plays.”
Keely, who got off to such a hot start, would finish the game with 19 points, and Walter Offutt added nine points and 11 rebounds.
Akron had familiar problems of its own in the first half. With Carmelo Betancourt playing point guard, the Zips’ offense once again felt disjointed, unable to get into any sort of a rhythm.
But Akron – particularly its defense - looked completely different in the second half, and Demetrius Treadwell began to impose his will in the post, helping to spring the Zips to a 12-4 run to open the half. A late 13-0 run sealed the victory, as Ohio went nearly ten minutes without scoring from the field.
“They [Ohio] got desperate. We started playing really good defense and you could see it in their faces,” Betancourt said.
Akron’s Chauncey Gilliam scored 13 points, Nick Harney scored 11 and Marshall added 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
While his defense improved in the second half, one thing is evident about Marshall. If he wants to succeed at the next level, he has to work on his tenacity and toughness around the rim, along with the way the game affects him mentally. Though he is athletic, he endures stretches of being picked on by opposing offenses and doesn’t impose his will as much as he should for a man of his size.
The only thing that matters right now, though, is that Akron is advancing to the NCAA tournament. The Zips certainly have the frontcourt size to compete, but plenty of questions still surround Betancourt and the team’s overall shooting. One wouldn’t know that by asking the Zips, though.
“I’m trying to win the NCAA tournament, honestly,” Marshall said. “There’s nothing that can stop us. You see the adversity we had a week ago with losing our starting point guard and we were still able to do what we needed to do to get our wins. That’s why I feel like in the tournament that’s what we’re going to do.”
