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Zips’ 2nd-half surge puts away RedHawks

Akron defense shuts down Mavunga in first half, Sullivan in second.

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Updated 1:29 AM Thursday, February 16, 2012

By Rick Cassano

Staff Writer

AKRON —The second half went poorly Wednesday night, and so went the Miami University men’s basketball team.

The RedHawks and host Akron were in a 33-all deadlock at the break, but the deep, balanced Zips opened the second half with a 20-7 surge en route to a 74-59 victory at James A. Rhodes Arena.

“We played a great first half, but I thought our big men really broke down in the second half,” MU coach Charlie Coles said. “Our big guys were lifeless. We needed to rotate on their ball screens. They ran the same play the whole second half. We never adjusted to it.”

Akron shot 51.0 percent from the field and racked up 40 points in the paint. Miami shot 41.7 percent, sinking just 9-of-27 field goals after intermission.

The RedHawks did put four scorers in double digits: Brian Sullivan (19), Jon Harris (14), Julian Mavunga (11) and Quinten Rollins (10). They fell to 8-16 overall and 4-8 in the Mid-American Conference East Division, while the East-leading Zips improved to 19-7, 11-1, with their eighth consecutive win.

“I still believe in this team,” said Sullivan, who tallied 17 first-half points and nailed 5-of-6 treys in the process. “The tournament’s what counts. Let’s see if we can get some momentum.”

Akron puts its defensive focus on Mavunga in the first half, opting to double-team him down low. Sullivan, a freshman from Upper Arlington, made the Zips pay.

“As a shooter, once you make one, two and the third one goes in, you start hunting shots,” Sullivan said. “If you can see the rim and you’re in range, you just let it go and you kind of know it’s going in.”

Akron coach Keith Dambrot chose to change his strategy in the second half and shine his squad’s defensive light on Sullivan.

“We didn’t double the post at all,” Dambrot said. “We just decided if they were going to beat us, they were going to beat us with twos, not threes.”

Mavunga did score nine points in the second half, getting his first field goal with 7:47 left. Sullivan was 0-for-3 beyond the arc and had only two points in the last 20 minutes.

“I still got three looks that I think I should’ve buried,” Sullivan said. “As a shooter, I have to make those. I put that one on me.”

Chauncey Gilliam paced the Zips with 14 points. Akron had eight players with at least five points and ruled the boards 33-23.

“They’ve got so many ways they can beat you,” Coles said. “We’ve only got a few ways, and those ways are narrowing now.”

Focus on your local teams Akron 74, Miami 59

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