Akron pulls away from Miami (Ohio) 72-55

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Nikola Cvetinovic scored 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Akron over Miami (Ohio) 72-55 on Wednesday night.

The Zips (18-10, 8-5 Mid-American Conference) trailed 27-21 with 5:29 left before halftime, but scored the final eight points of the half to take a 29-27 lead into the break.

A layup from Zeke Marshall capped a 12-4 run to start the second half as Akron led 41-31 with 14:08 to go. The Zips led by 10, 62-52, with 2:44 left to play before scoring seven straight points to seal the win.

Brett McKnight added 15 points and Steve McNees 14 for Akron, which shot 60 percent from the floor (15 of 25) in the second half.

The Zips, who have won six straight and seven of their last eight, posted a 38-26 rebounding edge over the RedHawks (14-14, 9-4).

Julian Mavunga had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Miami, which shot 5 of 23 from 3-point range (21.7 percent).