E. Michigan beats Akron 67-58, heads to MAC semis

Mar 9, 2018, 04:24 am

CLEVELAND -- Elijah Minnie scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Eastern Michigan rallied with a 28-4 second-half run to beat Akron 67-58 in Thursday night's Mid-American Conference quarterfinal, defeating the Zips for the first time in six chances in tournament play.

Tim Bond and Paul Jackson scored 15 points apiece for the third-seeded Eagles (21-11), who play No. 2 seed Toledo (22-10) in Friday's semifinal.

Akron led 31-22 at halftime and Malcolm Duvivier, Jimond Ivey and Eric Parrish each hit 3s for a 40-26 Akron lead early in the second half. The Eagles gained on an 8-2 run capped by Bond's free throws, then used a 21-3 run capped by Jackson's 3-point play to take a 60-57 lead with 2:23 left. The Zips didn't score a field goal in the final 6:38 and Minnie added a 3 and Bonds and Jackson combined for four free throws for the win.

Daniel Utomi scored 14 points and Eric Parrish and Duvivier added 13 apiece for the Zips (14-18).