AKRON, Ohio — Ali Ali scored 18 points and his basket with 5.4-seconds left capped an 11-0 Akron run and the Zips beat Western Michigan 74-73 on Tuesday night.
Cleveland native Enrique Freeman had 15 points and eight rebounds and Xavier Castaneda scored 14 points and distributed six assists for UA (10-5, 3-2 MAC). The Zips trailed by as many as 12 in the second half before mounting a furious comeback.
Three straight 3-pointers by Greg Tribble, Ali, and Castaneda closed the gap to one before WMU missed three shots and had one blocked on a single possession. Ali then followed up the defensive stand by hitting a mid-range jumper to put the home team ahead.
B. Artis White scored a career-high 23 points for Western (4-13, 0-6). The Broncos had one last chance to win it at the buzzer, but Markeese Hastings' layup didn't fall.
Now 7-1 at home this season, Akron will hit the road to face Bowling Green on Thursday night. The upcoming game had originally been scheduled for Dec. 29, but was postponed due to COVID-19.
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