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In addition to his double-digit points, Chris McKnight also posted eight rebounds to lead the Zips. Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens was the only other Zip in double figures, with 14, along with a career-high five steals. UA also dominated inside, outpacing the Broncos 30-18 on points in the paint. The Zips forced 17 WMU turnovers and were able to convert the miscues into 20 points, including a late-game steal and downcourt pass by Hitchens led to a dunk by Brett McKnight that pulled the Zips to within one at 62-61. The Zips opened the game with a 6-0 run and extended their lead to as many as 14 on two different occasions in the first half. However, the Broncos countered with a 9-0 run of their own to pull within five, 28-23, at the 5:15 mark of the first half. UA was able to push its lead back to nine points and maintained that nine-point margin at the half thanks to an athletic rebound put-back under the basket as time expired by Conyers on a missed 3-pointer from Hitchens at the top of the key. The Zips headed to the locker room with a 40-31 lead, nearly identical to the 40-32 margin at intermission in their quarterfinal matchup with Eastern Michigan. The Broncos were consistent on the offensive end throughout the game, shooting 45.8 percent (11-of-24) in the first half and 47.6 percent in the second period (10-of-21), but received only nine points from their bench and were outrebounded 34-28, including a 15-7 margin on the offensive glass. In the opening minutes of the second half, the Zips twice pushed their lead to 11 points, both times on baskets by Hitchens. However, the Broncos countered with a 16-5 run to tie the score at 54-all, with David Kool scoring 10 of the 16 points and capping the run with a baseline jumper at the 8:28 mark of the second half. After the Zips briefly regained the lead on two free throws by McNees, WMU took its first lead of the game at the 5:11 mark after two free throws and a layup by Kool.
Kool led all scorers with 39 points, including 5-of-11 marksmanship from 3-point range. No other WMU player scored in double figures, with senior forward Martell McLemore tallying the next highest Broncos point total with seven. The MAC championship game will tip off at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD. Zips Notebook: Akron improves to 8-1 since 2008 in the MAC Tournament and has won six-consecutive MAC Tournament contests. The Zips are now 12-4 in the conference tournament since Keith Dambrot took the helm in 2004 ... Akron improves to 19-17 all-time against Western Michigan, claiming victories in eight of the last nine match-ups ... UA improved to 13-11 all-time in MAC postseason play (5-3 when playing as the No. 3 seed) ... Akron has won four of its last five and eight of its last 10 games ... The Zips improved to 11-5 this season in away/neutral games ... Tonight’s victory marks Akron’s third 24-win season in the last four years.
Official Basketball Box Score
Western Michigan vs Akron
03/12/10 7:06 p.m. at Quicken Loans Arena - Cleveland
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VISITORS: Western Michigan 18-15
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
03 McLEMORE, Martelle.. f 4-9 1-4 0-0 2 3 5 1 9 0 2 0 1 28
11 HUTCHESON, Nate..... f 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 7
24 LAWSON, Donald...... c 0-2 0-0 4-7 3 2 5 4 4 1 1 2 3 33
05 DOUGLAS, Mike....... g 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 3 0 5 4 1 0 33
23 KOOL, David......... g 12-21 5-11 10-10 0 6 6 1 39 1 6 0 3 40-
01 WARD, Demetrius..... 1-1 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 1 13
15 WOLF, Alex.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 6
25 BROWN, David........ 0-1 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
32 CONTEH, Muhammed.... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 4
33 WHITFIELD, Flenard.. 3-8 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 2 6 1 3 0 0 35
TEAM................ 3 3
Totals.............. 21-45 8-18 14-17 7 21 28 17 64 10 17 3 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 11-24 45.8% 2nd Half: 10-21 47.6% Game: 46.7% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-9 44.4% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 5-6 83.3% 2nd Half: 9-11 81.8% Game: 82.4% 1
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HOME TEAM: Akron 24-9
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
30 McKNIGHT, Chris..... f 7-12 2-4 2-3 4 4 8 2 18 1 1 0 0 27
32 CONYERS, Jimmy...... f 3-6 0-1 2-2 1 1 2 2 8 2 1 0 1 28
44 MARSHALL, Zeke...... c 3-4 0-0 0-0 4 1 5 2 6 1 4 2 1 22
04 McNEES, Steve....... g 1-5 1-4 2-2 0 1 1 2 5 3 0 0 1 35
24 HITCHENS, Anthony... g 4-13 2-8 4-6 1 2 3 1 14 3 2 0 5 28
01 STEWARD, Ronnie..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 2
05 McCLANAHAN, Brett... 1-2 1-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 0 1 12
12 ROBERTS, Darryl..... 2-5 1-1 0-0 2 1 3 0 5 0 0 0 0 15
13 CVETINOVIC, Nikola.. 1-4 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 1 2 1 3 1 0 12
23 McKNIGHT, Brett..... 2-7 0-3 1-2 1 2 3 1 5 0 1 0 2 19
TEAM................ 1 5 6 1
Totals.............. 24-58 7-22 11-15 15 19 34 12 66 12 14 3 11 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 15-32 46.9% 2nd Half: 9-26 34.6% Game: 41.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 4-13 30.8% 2nd Half: 3-9 33.3% Game: 31.8% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 5-7 71.4% Game: 73.3% 2
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Officials: Terry Wymer, Glenn Mayborg, Lamont Simpson
Technical fouls: Western Michigan-None. Akron-None.
Attendance:
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Western Michigan.............. 31 33 - 64
Akron......................... 40 26 - 66
2010 First Energy Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinal
Points in the paint-WMU 18,AKRON 30. Points off turnovers-WMU 20,AKRON 20.
2nd chance points-WMU 9,AKRON 16. Fast break points-WMU 10,AKRON 9.
Bench points-WMU 9,AKRON 15. Score tied-4 times. Lead changed-4 times.
Last FG-WMU 2nd-01:34, AKRON 2nd-00:06.
Largest lead-WMU by 3 2nd-02:38, AKRON by 14 1st-09:44.
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Thomas R. Wolf, Jr. <wmuwolf@gmail.com>