Score: Morgan State 59 Akron 65
Location: James A. Rhodes Arena, Akron, Ohio
Records: Morgan State 1-3  Akron 2-1
The short story: Akron senior guard Enrique Freeman scored a team-high 17 points and Trendon Hankerson hit a pair of critical 3-pointers late as Akron held on late to defeatMorgan State Tuesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
 
OPENING TIP

• Freeman connected on 7-of-13 from the floor and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for Akron
• Senior guard Xavier Castaneda scored 16 points with six boards and sophomore Nate Johnson also scored double figures with 11 points.
• Senior guard Isaiah Burke led the Bears with a game-high 18 points and connected on 4-of-8 3-pointers. 
• Senior Malik Miller was he only other Bear to score in double-figures as he finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists. 

 
THE DIFFERENCE

• Akron turned over Morgan State 15 times and scored 12 points off those miscues.
• Akron played to a 40-28 halftime lead in a highly contest and physical game at JAR Arena. 
• Isaiah Burke buried a three-pointer and scored 7 points as part of a 16-2 run to start the second half. Malik Miller scored on a layup to give the Bears a 44-42 lead with just under 14 minutes left to go.
• The Bears made life tough for the Zips on the offensive end of the floor as Akron went on a 7-minute scoring drought.
• Sammy Hunter scored on a baseline dunk with 12:27 to tie the game at 44 with 12 minutes remaining.  Collin picks up the team's 7^th foul tied 44-44 with 12 to go. 
• Enrique Freeman hit a jumphook to retake the lead for the Zips at 46-44 and a layup by Garvin Clark was goaltended to extend to a 48-44 edge.
• Malik Miller scored on a backdoor pass from Collin Nnamene to cut the lead to 50-49 with 7 minutes remaining before a 9-0 run over the course of the next 3 minutes was enough to permanently stay out front. 
• Akron shot .361 (22-of-61) from the field, compared to Morgan State's .375 (24-of-64). Akron struggled beyond the arc, where the Zips shot .240 (6-of-25), while the Bears connected on 6-of-15 (.400) from 3-point range.
• The Bears held a 18-12 advantage in second chance points.  
• Akron led for 30:51 out of the 40 minutes, while Morgan State only led for 2:29.

NOTABLE

• Tuesday night's game marked the first meeting between the teams in basketball action – The teams faced each other on the gridiron during the grand opening of InfoCision Stadium on Sept. 12, 2009 .. the Zips won the game 41-0.
• The loss comes three days after a hard-fought 69-54 loss against A10 opponent VCU.

 
UP NEXT
The Bears will travel to play two games at the Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic before wrapping up the road swing at Loyola Marymount (Nov. 23). Tip-off for Friday night's game versus Utah Valley is set for 7 p.m. (ET). The Jamaica Classic will be streamed live by HBCUGO.


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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.