by It was another Tuesday night of MACtion. This time coming from “the JAR” where the Akron Zips hosted the Northern Illinois Huskies. The Huskies came into the game at 5-20 on the season, and 1-11 in MAC play. While the Zips came into the game with the nation’s longest win streak at 13 games having an overall record at 20-5, and a 12-0 best in the MAC.
The Akron Zips fans sure did show up at the JAR tonight, as it was also Enrique Freeman night. The former Akron big was drafted in the 2024 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers with the 50th overall pick.
Freeman became the first Zip to be drafted in the modern day two-round NBA Draft era. Freeman was also just the 6th player in Akron history to record 1,000 career points, and 1,000 career rebounds. The numbers he put up with Akron allowed him to get his number retired during halftime, becoming a Zip legend forever.
Tonight, the current Akron Zips were all about Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson. As Akron’s two leading scorers did not disappoint in the 73-63 win over Northern Illinois, extending their win streak to 14 in a row.
Tavari led the way with 13 points, along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists. While Nate followed up with 12 points,8 rebounds, and 2 assists.
As for the game itself, Akron started off on a whopping 12-2 run. Everything seemed to be hitting for the Zips as they were shooting 55%, including 2-for-5 from three by the first media timeout of the game.
The scoring would eventually slow down as the intensity picked up. Akron would go on a narrow 10-7 run across 3:49 of game time.
The Zips defense would ultimately be described as lock down defense, holding the Huskies to just 17% from the field. The key reason why Akron still held a nice lead at 22-9 with 9:32 left in the half.
But Northern Illinois was not done quite yet. The Huskies’ moment of the game came from a 10-2 run getting them back in it late in the first half. The Zips lead was cut down to just 24-19 with 4:34 left to play in the half.
The fight would keep going for Northern Illinois as they would eventually take a 31-28 lead right before the half. It would be a 12-2 run to end the half that sent a spark through the Huskies as they wanted to spoil the halftime party for Enrique Freeman and co.
Akron fans had to be just as stunned as the players and coaches were. The JAR was very silent compared to the beginning of the game when it was in the Zips favor.
But it would not be long until Akron got the momentum back in the game. The Zips came out of halftime on a 10-2 run, looking much more like themselves. Northern Illinois was forced to use a timeout with Akron leading 38-33 to start the second half.
By time the under-12 media timeout came in the second half, Akron had their lead back up to 8 at 43-35. They came out shooting just 38% but it did not matter.
The Zips made it known at halftime they wanted to be more physical. After just 6 free throw attempts in the first half alone, they made it a priority to get to the line more. Well, it was successful as the Zips ended up going 17-for-20 from the line in the second half.
Northern Illinois refused to go away. Big part thanks to the MAC’s leading scorer, sophomore Quentin Jones. Jones came into the game averaging 16.5 points per game, being one of the bright spots on this year’s Huskies team.
The Akron lead once again got down to as less as four at 51-47. But the Zips just had too many play-makers compared to the Huskies.
You also cannot forget to give Northern Illinois credit for their gritty play. They refused to let Akron run away with the game, much like the first time these two teams matched up when the Huskies lost by 10, 70-80.
Akron would finally get going at playing their own style. The Zips held a 63-53 lead with just 3:02 left in the game thanks to a tale of two halves. Akron shot 50% from the field compared to just 37% in the first half.
If it was not for Senior Shammah Scott and his tremendous second half, the Zips would have had a much harder time putting the game away. Coming off the bench, Scott had 13 of his 15 points in the second half, to go along with 5 total rebounds and 4 assists.
But an even bigger second half came from the Huskies own, Quentin Jones who Akron had no answers for down the stretch. A quick 5-0 run of his own would put Northern Illinois down just 58-64 with 2:07 left to play.
Jones ended up having 19 of his 28 points in the second half alone.
Despite Northern Illinois giving it all they had, especially down the stretch, it would not be enough. The Zips finished the game on a 9-5 run which was too much for the Huskies to overcome.
The win puts Akron at 21-5 on the season and remaining undefeated in the MAC at 13-0. While the loss drops Northern Illinois to 5-21 on the season, with a MAC worst record at 1-11.
Super report, Brady! I was at the game, and your description of events was spot on. Shooting by both Akron and NIU was, for the most part, awful; defense, on the other hand, was good by both the Zips and Huskies. Northern Illinois showed that they can play much better than their record, and it’s noteworthy that the Huskies have not been blown out of any MAC games, usually losing by single digits.