COLUMBUS: The University of Akron men’s basketball team has little to be ashamed of in its 72-63 season-ending overtime loss to Ohio State at Value City Arena on Tuesday night in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament.
“I’m disappointed but proud,” Zips coach Keith Dambrot said.
However, the Zips are likely going to want to kick themselves, because they had opportunities to win the game. UA (26-9) played the Buckeyes tough, except for two areas.
The Buckeyes (21-13) dominated the boards 57-43, including beating the Zips 18-16 on the offensive end. And the Zips at times were their own worst enemy in a game they could’ve won in regulation if they’d been able to connect on free throws. UA hit 8-of-20 from the free-throw line, including crucial misses to begin the overtime period.
Making matters worse, the Zips also hit just 9-of-42 (21 percent) of their 3-point attempts, with most of the shots being good looks. UA shot 39 percent from beyond the arc on the season.
“If you would have told me we would have hit 9-of-42 [from 3] with the shots that we got, I would have told you that I would be surprised,” Dambrot said. “We didn’t shoot the ball. We didn’t shoot the ball from the free-throw line.”
Dambrot may have been speaking for UA fans everywhere when he expressed disbelief at the Zips’ inability to hit from 3-point range with any consistency.
“I don’t feel like they took it away from us,” he said. “We just missed them. I think it was an aberration.”
The Buckeyes may not have taken it away, but Ohio State was conscious of what UA was capable of doing from that range. Even so, Buckeyes coach Thad Matta acknowledged the Zips got their share of uncontested shots.
“Anyone that shoots that many 3s, they’re dangerous because they can go on a run at any time,” Matta said.
Neither team produced that big run, at least not until Ohio State took over in overtime, outscoring the Zips 10-1.
Before that, the game was a give-and-take affair as Zips center Isaiah “Big Dog” Johnson, who struggled in the first half (six points), added 10 more in the second half to go along with 12 rebounds. On the down side, he could not consistently hit free throws, hitting 6-of-16 for the game.
“We asked him to do a lot without [injured center Pat] Forsythe,” Dambrot said of Johnson. “He played a lot of minutes.”
Seniors Reggie McAdams and Jake Kretzer added 12 points each for the Zips, who were playing their fourth game in six days, all without Forsythe.
Three Buckeyes — forward Marc Loving and guards JaQuan Lyle and Kam Williams — led all scorers with 18 points apiece.
Certainly, the loss was disappointing to Dambrot and the hurt is real. There’s little doubt a victory would have helped elevate the program’s profile. However, in Dambrot’s mind, the Zips showed a lot in the game and for the season.
“I give our guys credit. We’ve shown that we can compete at a high level,” he said.
A win over Arkansas, staying right with Villanova for a half early in the season and forcing Ohio State into overtime reinforced that belief.
“We’ve shown we can play with the big boys,” he said.
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at www.ohio.com/zips. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.