Tartans Play Exhibition Game at Akron

(AKRON, Ohio) - The Carnegie Mellon University men's basketball team played an exhibition contest at Division I The University of Akron Sunday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena and fell by the score of 82-55 in front of a crowd of 2,446. The Tartans were led by junior Cooper Williams (Meriden, N.H./Kimball Union Academy), who finished with 12 points.

For the game, Akron shot 49.2% from the floor to the Tartans 37.7%. Behind William's 12 points, senior Seth Henry (Fulton, Md./Reservoir) and junior Colin McNeil (Ringoes, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) and Trent Suddeth (Winter Park, Fla./Trinity Prep) all ended with eight points each. Suddeth led the Cardinal and Gray with six rebounds.

The Zips opened the game on a 10-2 run before the Tartans cut the deficit to 12-8 with 16:20 to play in the first half following triples by sophomore Zach Watson (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) and Henry. Akron then scored 13 straight points over the next two minutes and led 25-8.

Carnegie Mellon answered with a 15-4 run over the next seven minutes which made the score 29-23. During the run, Henry and Williams accounted for 11 points as they went a combined 4-of-4 from the floor with three field goals coming from behind the arc. Over the next 4:02, the Zips scored 12 straight points to claim a 41-23 lead and went into the locker room with a 43-27 advantage.

Midway through the second half, Akron used a 17-2 run over a span of 4:38 to take a 72-42 advantage, the largest of the game. The Zips then went on for the 82-55 victory behind 22 points from Daniel Utomi. Channel Banks and Tyler Cheese finished with 13 and 12, respectively, while Jimond Ivey ended with 11 points for the Zips.

Carnegie Mellon will be back on the hardwood Wednesday, January 2 with a 3:00 p.m. contest against Marymount University at Skibo Gymnasium.