Jan. 16, 2006

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CLEVELAND - Akron got off to a slow start before pulling away with a 31-7 run spanning halftime en route to earning a 62-50 victory over Cleveland State on Monday night in the Wolstein Center. The non-conference affair was the 63rd contest between the two schools and the sixth win for the Zips in the last eight meetings.

CSU saw its modest two-game winning streak come to an end to fall to 6-9 overall, while Akron improved to 11-3 with its sixth consecutive victory.

Cleveland State went 8-for-11 from the floor to open up a 17-10 advantage at the 12:31 mark of the first half as Akron struggled early from the field, making just one of its first 11 shots. However, the Vikings would not make a field goal the rest of the half (0-14), as an Ije Nwankwo free throw with 1.5 seconds left snapped a 17-0 run by the Zips, who connected on nine of their final 19 shots to close out the half.

Akron continued the burst, scoring 14 of the first 20 points in the second stanza to build its advantage to 41-24 at the 13:40 mark. The Vikings turned up the defensive pressure to slowly cut into the deficit, eventually closing to within seven (51-44) on a Raheem Moss three-pointer with 5:10 left.

CSU would get no closer down the stretch as the Zips went 7-for-10 at the free throw line in the final 2:05 to put to rest any thoughts of a comeback.

The Vikings continued their run of playing solid defense, holding the Zips -- who entered the game scoring 77.9 points while shooting 47.6 percent -- to their second-lowest scoring total of the year on a 22-for-53 effort from the floor (41.5 percent). However, the Vikings struggled all night, shooting just 33.3 percent (19-57), including a 3-for-16 performance from the three-point line (18.8 percent).

Nwanko led CSU with 15 points and eight rebounds, both game highs, while Moss and J'Nathan Bullock both finished with eight points.

The Zips were led by Dru Joyce, Nate Linhart and Romeo Travis, who each finished with 12 points. Joyce also tallied a team-high eight rebounds and four assists.

The Vikings make their first two-game Horizon League road swing this week when they play at UIC on Thursday (Jan. 19) and at UW-Green Bay on Saturday (Jan. 21).