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Akron routs Ohio for MAC title

Mar 17, 2013 - 4:40 AM Cleveland, OH (Sports Network) - Demetrius Treadwell and Chauncey Gilliam scored 13 points apiece, as Akron defeated Ohio, 65-46, in the MAC Tournament title game.

Akron (26-6), which earned the first seed and three byes in the tourney, defeated Kent State to reach the title game. The Zips won the MAC Tournament for the second time in three years and their third overall.

Treadwell also grabbed 10 boards. Nick Harney had 11 points and Zeke Marshall recorded 10 points and nine rebounds.

"Tremendous amount of respect for Ohio," said Zips coach Keith Dambrot. "Fortunately, we matched up well with enough that we can take away some of their strengths. Our guys just showed tremendous toughness at the defensive end. Sometimes we look back that we were slopping around on offense, but we played a great defensive game."

Reggie Keely led Ohio (24-9) with 19 points. The Bobcats, who earned the second seed in the tourney, were vying for their second straight championship and their seventh overall, which would have tied with Ball State for most in the conference.

"It's real disappointing," said Keely. "We came out here to win a championship and we didn't get the job done. We came to cement a legacy and we couldn't get it done."

Entering the second half, Ohio had a 29-26 advantage, but it quickly evaporated as Akron would tie the game at 29 with 18:24 left.

The Bobcats had trouble making shots in the frame, scoring just 17 points on 18.5 percent shooting, including 0-for-12 from behind the arc. In addition, after T.J. Hall made a layup with 11 1/2 minutes in regulation, Ohio did not record a field goal for nearly 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Akron took control, scoring 39 points on 46.4 percent shooting, including an 11-0 run late in the half. Gilliam scored 11 of his points in the period.

In the first half, Kelly led the way for the Bobcats, scoring 14 points, and Ohio had a 27-20 lead with 4:44 to play.

However, the Zips cut the deficit to 27-26 with 35 seconds to go. Hall made a layup with one second left to end the half.

Game Notes

Ohio's D.J. Cooper, the MAC Player of the Year, scored just three points and was 0-for-8 from the field, including 0-for-6 from behind the arc The Bobcats shot 1-of-20 from 3-point range with Walter Offutt making the only shot ... Akron has played in seven straight MAC title games.