Lonnie McMillan Photo

Alex Abreu had 21 points and nine assists and Zeke Marshall had 17 points on 8-of-8 shooting with 12 rebounds for the Zips (17-4, 8-0 MAC). Demetrius Treadwell had 15 points and 10 boards.

Nick Kellogg paced Ohio (15-6, 6-1 MAC) with 15 points, while D.J. Cooper scored 14 points and passed out six assists.

Ohio led 23-10 on a Ricardo Johnson 3-pointer midway through the first half, and it still led 27-16 after a Kellogg layup with 7:58 remaining, but Akron took over after that.

“We started well, got some stops, rebounded well and got out in transition,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “… The last eight minutes of the half we didn’t get many stops.”

Held to 16 points in the first 12 minutes, the Zips scored 25 in the final eight, taking a 41-36 lead at the break. They did not cool down much in the second half either and finished the game shooting 56.1 percent.

The decisive run came with Akron leading 59-54 with nine minutes remaining in the game. Pat Forsythe completed a three-point play, Marshall scored in the paint and Treadwell scored consecutive baskets to cap a 9-0 run that gave the Zips a 68-54 lead at the 6:48 mark.

After the Zips went up by as much as 15, the Bobcats sliced the lead to single digits on a T.J. Hall 3-pointer at the 2:28 mark. Hall struck again after two Harney free throws to make it 76-68 with 2:21 remaining, but that was as close as the Bobcats got.

Ohio defeated Akron in the teams’ last two meetings, winning in an 85-61 blowout near the end of last year’s regular season and then edging the Zips, 64-63, in the MAC tournament championship game.

“We tried not to (think about),” Abreu said. “It’s one of those nightmares you don’t ever want to remember. It’s a learning experience, another tough game. … It’s the ignition to our fire inside. We know somebody took something from us that belonged to us.”

Early on, it seemed the Bobcats might have the Zips’ number again. Down 8-5 after a Marshall jumper, Ohio went on a 14-0 run to take a 19-8 lead. Kellogg scored the first five points, Reggie Keely scored in the post and Hall scored off of a steal. Jon Smith had a three-point play and Cooper had a steal for a layup as Ohio kept Akron off the scoreboard for more than four minutes.

The Bobcats managed to hold the lead until Brian Walsh tied it with two free throws at the 2:09 mark. Abreu followed with a 3-pointer that put the Zips up for good. Reggie McAdams, who came off the bench to score 11 points, capped a 15-4 run over the final 3:06 with one of his three 3-pointers.

“I found my role on this team is you just have to wait for your moment,” McAdams said. “That’s my job on this team.”

Kellogg got the Bobcats as close as two early in the second half with a 3-pointer, but Marshall completed a three-point play on the next possession. Later, Stevie Taylor’s fast-break layup closed the gap to 51-48, but Treadwell answered with a jumper at the other end. McAdams had two treys with a Kellogg jumper in between to put Akron in control, 59-50.

Ohio cashed in on four consecutive free throws, including two by Cooper with 9:52 remaining to make it a five-point game before the Zips’ dagger run.

The victory ended Ohio’s seven-game winning streak and pushed Akron’s winning streak to 13 games, the longest in the nation.

“We’ve been flying under the radar for too long,” Abreu said. “It’s finally time for some national recognition. … We don’t plan on losing any time soon.”

In addition to the 32 combined points for Marshall and Treadwell, fellow forward Nick Harney scored 13 points. The Zips outscored the Bobcats 40-28 in the paint and 11-2 on second-chance points and held a 40-22 rebounding advantage in the game.

“You’ve got to want it,” Christian said. “It’s not physical. We didn’t want it bad enough tonight. There’s no technique. We didn’t invent blockouts over here. It’s got to be all five guys. They're not much bigger than us. Treadwell is 6-foot-7, but he wants the ball and he goes and gets it.”

While Akron shot a high percentage in the game, Ohio was just 22 of 54 (40.7 percent), including 10 of 31 (32.3 percent) in the second half. Walter Offutt was 3 of 13, Ivo Baltic missed the only shot he took and had two rebounds in 22 minutes and Cooper was good on just 3 of 10 attempts. Cooper also had four turnovers.

“We changed the strategy on guarding him a little bit,” Abreu said. “I try to stay aggressive all game and try to not take it personal like the coaches said. In my heart, it’s for the Akron Zips winning. It’s not about my numbers and his numbers anymore. I’m past that point.”

Abreu was 7 of 10, including 3 of 5 from long range, and committed only two turnovers.

“Some of (the reason for struggling) is these guys,” Christian said. “They’re a pretty good team. They don’t lose a lot of games in their building.”

Ohio will try to bounce back at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Ball State.