Akron Zips men's basketball still unbeaten at home with sweep of MAC foe Northern Illinois

The University of Akron men's basketball team seized a 80-73 victory and a regular-season sweep of Northern Illinois University on Saturday night at Rhodes Arena.

Mid-American Conference-leading Akron (21-8, 13-3) needed to be on upset alert in its rematch with Northern Illinois (10-19, 4-12).

After all, NIU led by three points at halftime and had been coming off a surprising 75-72 road victory over second-place Toledo (18-11, 12-4).

The Zips defeated the host Huskies 73-51 on Jan. 2. Senior forward Enrique Freeman led Akron with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and junior guard David Coit scored 21 points to give Northern Illinois its lone player in double figures.

This time around, Freeman had another double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.

And Coit scored a game-high 37 points on 13-of-29 shooting from the field.

Akron bounced back from its 74-67 loss at Ohio on Tuesday, the same day Northern Illinois stunned Toledo.

UA remained undefeated (13-0) at home this season and triumphed on its senior day.

Tipoff occurred shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday. Here are updates from throughout the game.

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Below is some information about the second half.

Akron goes ahead by 13 points with less than six minutes left in the second half, but has to hang on

Akron senior guard Ali Ali made a 3-pointer from the left baseline to bolster the Zips' lead to 70-57 with 5:43 left in the second half. Ali finished with 17 points and eclipsed 1,000 career points with UA.

Facing its largest deficit of the game, Northern Illinois called timeout. The Huskies rallied and trailed 75-71 when Coit split two foul shots with 23.8 seconds left.

However, Akron held on for the win.

Zips redshirt sophomore guard Nate Johnson made two crucial foul shots with 21.7 seconds remaining, but Coit answered with two free throws of his own, making it 77-73 in favor of UA with 16.9 seconds left.

Junior guard Shammah Scott made two foul shots with 16.6 seconds left, and senior forward Sammy Hunter split a pair with 7.2 seconds left to give UA an 80-73 lead.

Akron builds 10-point lead vs. Northern Illinois with less than 10 minutes left in the second half

Ali used some razzle-dazzle on an assist to redshirt freshman guard Ryan Prather Jr. Ali knew Prather was behind him on the left baseline, so Ali bounced the ball between his legs and to Prather.

Prather caught the pass and made a 3-pointer to give UA a 63-53 advantage with 7:50 left in the second half.

The 10-point lead was Akron's largest of the game. It materialized amid an 8-0 UA run.

Northern Illinois' David Coit won't stop scoring vs. the Akron Zips

After Akron gained a 55-47 lead with 10:29 left in the second half, Coit reminded everyone how dangerous he can be.

Coit made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions to deflate Akron's advantage to 55-53 and compel the Zips to call timeout with 9:35 remaining in the second half.

Those shots increased Coit's scoring total to 28.

Zips lead Huskies 52-46 with 11:11 left in the second half

UA has tightened its defense in the second half, allowing just nine points through roughly the first nine minutes after halftime.

The turnaround helped Akron lead 52-46 during a timeout with 11:11 remaining in the second half.

Akron manufacture a 12-5 run coming out of halftime and lead 46-42 with 15:22 left in the second half

Ali scored six points during the first five minutes of the second half to help the UA offense awaken.

Ali's contributions were part of Akron's 12-5 run to begin the second half.

Below is some information about the first half.

Northern Illinois leads Akron 37-34 at halftime

After UA cut NIU's lead to one point, Coit made a 3-pointer and another jump shot, boosting the Huskies to a 37-31 edge with 1:23 left in the first half.

But Akron scored the final points of the first half courtesy of sophomore guard Tavari Johnson's 3-pointer.

The Zips trailed 37-34 at halftime.

In the first half, Coit had a game-high 18 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field. Freeman led Akron with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the floor.

Sammy Hunter's versatility on display during an Akron rally

When Freeman missed the second of a pair of free throws with 3:40 left in the first half, Hunter grabbed an offensive rebound. Then Hunter made a 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining in the first half.

And with 2:45 left in the first half, Freeman made a dunk on an assist from Hunter, cutting Akron's deficit to 32-31.

Akron rallies to tie score, but Northern Illinois fires back late in the first half

In his second game back from a broken hand, Nate Johnson made a 3-pointer to tie the score 23-23 with 6:17 left in the first half.

But Northern Illinois countered and built a 30-25 lead with 4:48 left in the first half when freshman guard Will Lovings-Watts hit a 3-pointer. The play led Akron coach John Groce to call timeout.

Then a layup by Lovings-Watts increased Northern Illinois' advantage to 32-25 with 4:14 remaining in the first half. He finished the game with 12 points.

Ryan Prather Jr. gives Akron Zips a spark

Prather accounted for five points in his first three minutes off the bench and finished with eight along with Hunter.

Prather's 3-pointer with 8:12 left in the first half cut NIU's lead to 22-18.

Northern Illinois uses 14-4 run to take control in the first half

When Coit drove through the lane for a layup with 11:06 left in the first half, Northern Illinois' lead grew to 17-8.

The Huskies had gone on a 14-4 run.

Northern Illinois leads Akron roughly midway through the first half

Northern Illinois went ahead 15-8 when Coit made a 3-pointer with 12:46 left in the first half.

Northern Illinois led 11-6 with 14:42 left in the first half after Coit and Lovings-Watts made back-to-back 3-pointers.

UA will need better perimeter defense the rest of the way. NIU started the game 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

Akron led 6-5 with 15:31 left in the first half. Freeman quickly scored four points.

Northern Illinois starting guard Zion Russell picked up two quick fouls, the second with 18:09 left in the first half.

Below is some pregame information.

What is the history between Akron Zips men's basketball and Northern Illinois Huskies?

Akron is now 32-14 in its all-time series with conference foe Northern Illinois.

The Zips are now 20-3 at home against the Huskies.

And UA has now won 15 of the past 20 games in the series.

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How can I watch, stream or listen to the Akron Zips vs. Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball game?

The game was available on ESPN+. It was broadcast locally on the Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO (640-AM).

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Who does Akron Zips men's basketball team play next?

The Zips will end the regular season with a home game Tuesday against Eastern Michigan (12-17, 5-11) and a road game Friday versus Western Michigan (11-18, 8-8).

The MAC Tournament is scheduled to be held March 14-16 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips beat MAC foe Northern Illinois in men's basketball