Spartans fall to Akron thanks to dismal shooting

The Men's Basketball team fell to 2-7 Friday night with an 83-59 loss to the 2009 Mac champion Akron Zips (6-3).

Brandon Evans led the Spartans with 13 points and was 3-6 from the field while going 7-8 from the free throw line. Freshman Kyle Randall played his first game in Ohio in a UNCG uniform. The 5-11 guard is from nearby Canfield, Ohio. Randall had 9 points for the Spartans but shot only 3-14 from the field.

Akron shot 53 percent in the first half and improved to 63 percent in the second. The Spartans shot only 31 percent and 37 percent, respectively. UNCG finished the game 3-13 from behind the arc and 18-51 from the field.

The Zips went on a 14-0 run in 5 minutes to put their lead at 18-4 with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. The Spartans cut the lead to 8 with 6:28 left after consecutive three's from Seniors Mikko Koivisto and and Montel Smith.

Turnovers plagued the Spartans throughout the first half with Akron scoring 17 points off 11 turnovers. The Zips also totaled 20 points in the paint in the opening frame.

The second half was more of the same for the Spartans. The Zips went on an 18 to 7 run in 6 minutes to extend their lead to 27 with 7:27 to play.

The Zips had four players in double figures. Sophomore Anthony Hitchens led the Zips with 14 points while Junior Brett McKnight added 11 points and 8 rebounds. Akron's bench added 44 points.

UNCG head coach Mike Dement said after the game, "We could not run anything because we were not comfortable. They were very physical in their attack, which this league is. They are in a very positive way. We talked to our guys about that. We weren't able to handle it" Dement added, "They really just took us out of everything. We couldn't score and they were getting some easy baskets."

Akron head coach Keith Dambrot commented on his team's early performance, "I thought we were a little sluggish early offensively but overall we played good defense and if you play good defense then you are going to be in a lot of games."

Akron improved to 6-3 and has won 6 of their last 7. The Zips fell 66-45 against North Carolina State in their second game of the year. UNCG will play NC State on December 31.

UNCG will travel to Richmond on Tuesday and then return home to Greensboro for a five game home stand. The Spartans will play their final three games against ACC teams on December 28 against Wake Forest, December 31 against NC State, and January 3 against Maryland. UNCG will then host SoCon opponents Wofford on January 7 and Furman on January 9