Late first-half surge pushes Ohio past Akron 66-50

Feb 22, 2015, 08:40 pm

AKRON, Ohio -- Jon Smith scored 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting and hauled in 12 rebounds to help Ohio push past Akron 66-50 on Saturday night.

The Bobcats (19-8, 9-5 Mid-American) shot 54.7 percent from the field. Travis Wilkins finished with 14 points and Nick Kellogg added 11.

Akron (17-10, 9-5) stumbled through a 15-of-56 shooting performance (26.8 percent). Demetrius Treadwell and Quincy Diggs both had 13 points and nine boards, and Deji Ibitayo also contributed 13 points.

Ohio jumped out to an early 14-2 lead as Kellogg had a 3-pointer, jumper and a layup. The Zips crawled back to pull within three, but Wilkins responded with a 3-pointer and a jumper, igniting a 16-3 run to close the half and take a 36-20 advantage at the break.

With the win, the Bobcats are now tied with Akron for second place in the East Division of the MAC standings.