UT Arlington men crush Akron, advance to NIT quarterfinals
Kaelon Wilson scored 18 points and UT Arlington routed Akron 85-69 on Monday night in the second round of the NIT.
No. 6 seed UTA (27-8) will play the winner of Monday’s late game between Cal State Bakersfield and Colorado State in a quarterfinal. The Mavericks have won 14 straight at home.
Wilson was 7 of 9 from the floor. Kevin Hervey and Erick Neal added 13 points apiece for the Mavericks, who shot 53 percent from the floor and made 12 of 29 (41 percent) from long range.
Jimond Ivey scored 14 points to lead No. 7 seed Akron (27-9). Kwan Cheatham Jr. chipped in 11 points. UT Arlington had a double-digit lead with 3:33 left in the first half, led 39-26 at the break and the Zips didn’t get closer. The Mavericks had their largest lead, 77-46, with about eight minutes left.
UT ARLINGTON 85, AKRON 69
AKRON (27-9): Cheatham 4-12 1-2 11, Johnson 3-5 3-5 9, Ivey 4-9 6-8 14, An.Jackson 1-7 3-3 6, Robotham 2-8 2-2 7, Olojakpoke 0-0 0-0 0, Hughes 0-0 0-0 0, Dunn-Martin 2-7 0-0 5, Dalton 0-1 0-0 0, Williams 3-6 0-0 9, Aa.Jackson 1-2 0-2 3, Utomi 2-7 0-1 5. Totals 22-64 15-23 69.
UT Arlington (27-8): Bilbao 3-6 4-5 10, Hervey 6-14 0-0 13, Wilson 7-9 2-4 18, Charles 4-8 0-0 11, Neal 5-10 0-0 13, Pope 3-4 0-0 7, Muirhead 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Kabadyundi 1-2 1-2 3, Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Hawkins 4-6 0-1 10. Totals 33-61 7-12 85.
Halftime—UT Arlington 39-26. 3-Point Goals—Akron 10-34 (Williams 3-6, Cheatham 2-8, Robotham 1-2, Aa.Jackson 1-2, Utomi 1-3, Dunn-Martin 1-4, An.Jackson 1-6, Ivey 0-3), UT Arlington 12-28 (Charles 3-7, Neal 3-7, Hawkins 2-2, Wilson 2-3, Pope 1-2, Hervey 1-6, Muirhead 0-1). Fouled Out—Ivey. Rebounds—Akron 32 (Ivey, Cheatham 8), UT Arlington 37 (Bilbao 9). Assists—Akron 8 (Johnson 3), UT Arlington 20 (Neal 8). Total Fouls—Akron 18, UT Arlington 16. Technicals—Jones.
This story was originally published March 20, 2017 at 9:36 PM with the headline "UT Arlington men crush Akron, advance to NIT quarterfinals."