By Staff
Central Michigan University dropped its seventh straight men's basketball game in a Mid-American Conference matinee contest Saturday at the University of Akron, 75-62.
The Chippewas battled Akron to a near draw in the first half, trailing by just two points at the break, 35-33. However, the Zips had their way in the second half in outscoring CMU by 11 points.
The win upped Akron's overall record to 9-6 and its conference mark to 3-4 while the Chippewas are now 3-14 for the season and 0-7 in MAC play.
The game was foul-filled with 53 fouls called in the game, 29 on Akron. The Zips had three players foul out and CMU one -- Gerrit Brigitha, who took a seat with just nine points. He was averaging more than 17 points an outing.
Akron held the upper hand in shooting, meshing 52 percent on 26-of-50 from the field. CMU hit 23-of-50 for 46 percent. The Chippewas did hit 50 percent from behind the 3-point line on 7-of-14.
CMU held a 36-30 edge in rebounding thanks to Sefton Barrett's 10 caroms. The Chippewas also had more turnovers, however, 20-14.
Kevin Nelson led the Chippewas with 12 points, including 3-of-3 3-pointers, while Barrett and Brigitha each added nine.
Game-high laurels went to Akron's Derrick Tarver with 33 followed by Jeremiah Wood and Romeo Travis with 11 and 10, respectively.
The Akron contest was the first of three road tilts for CMU. The Chippewas return to action on Wednesday at Eastern Michigan University. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
Akron………………….75
Central Michigan….62
Akron: Jeremiah Wood 4 3-5 11, Romeo Travis 4 2-4 10, Andy Hispher 1 0-2 2, Derrick Tarver 13 5-13 33, John Hollingsworth 1 1-3 4, Bryan Hipsher 0 0-0 0, Rick McFadden 2 3-4 9, Mario Collins 0 1-2 1, Dru Joyce III 0 3-4 3, Matt Futch 1 0-0 2, Nick Meyers 0 0-0 0, Matt Seibert 0 0-0 0. Totals: 26 18-37 75
CMU: Brandon Voorhees 1 2-2 5, David Hoskins 1 0-0 2, Gerrit Brigitha 4 1-2 9, Tony BOwne 3 0-0 7, T.J. Meerman 3 0-0 7, Sefton Barrett 3 2-6 9, Tom Pantlind 0 0-0 0, Kevin Nelson 4 1-2 12, Steve Harris 1 0-0 2, Marcus Moore 0 0-0 0, Joe Carr 1 0-0 2, Adam Dentlinger 2 3-6 7. Totals: 23 9-18 62
Halftime score: Akron 35, CMU 33
3-point shooting: Akron 5 (Tarver 2, McFadden 2, Hollingsworth), CMU 7 (Nelson 3, Voorhees, Bowne, Meerman, Barrett). Team fouls (fouled out): Akron 24 (Wood, McFadden, Futch), CMU 29 (Brigitha). Team records: Akron 9-6 (3-4 MAC), CMU 3-14 (0-7)