Enrique Freeman leads Akron Zips men's basketball team to sixth consecutive win

The University of Akron men’s basketball team jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead and held for its sixth consecutive win, 83-77 over Ohio in a Mid-American Conference game Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Arena.

Zips forward Enrique Freeman played a powerful game to notch yet another double-double with a game-high 32 points and 15 rebounds. Guard Xavier Castaneda added 16 points for UA (15-6, 7-1).

Jaylin Hunter led the Bobcats (11-10, 3-5) with 16 points and four rebounds.

Offense was the theme of the day for both teams. The Zips shot 56% from the floor (28 of 50), including 56% from behind the 3-point line (9 of 16), and Ohio converted 52% (29 of 56) of its attempts.

Ohio gave Xavier Castaneda its defensive focus

When the leading scorer in the conference is playing, there’s generally little doubt the opposing team will play particular attention to him. Such was the case for Castaneda, who came into the game having scored 32 points in each of his previous two games. The Bobcats, knowing that, often doubled him when he had the ball so he could not inflict offensive damage.

Castaneda still produced a “quiet” 16 points and was a factor given the score and the way the Bobcats played him provided other opportunities.

“Kudos to our guys because I don't necessarily think it's so much, ‘Hey, Enrique didn't have it offensively the previous two games or X didn't have it tonight offensively,’" UA coach John Groce said. “I think it's more than playing the game the right way, taking advantage of what's there … They found a way to get the ball inside and we were able to take advantage of the coverage.”

Freeman agreed.

“I think you just got to pick your poison,” he said. “You take Xavier away, he gets a shot. You take Xavier away, Sam [Hunter] gets a shot. You take Xavier away, I get a shot. Just kind of picking your poison.”

Akron Zips forward Enrique Freeman was back to himself

The primary opportunity came in the person of Freeman, who returned to his standard double-double-producing ways. No double-double generally is quiet, but this one was thunderous as the Zips worked their inside-out game to perfection to give Freeman a career high.

Considering two of the last three games, Freeman’s performance wasn’t a given. Against Central Michigan and Western Michigan he scored eight and six points, respectively, well below his season average. He produced 13 against Miami, but Saturday’s personal vivisection of Ohio’s interior defense looked like the release of frustration. He took less than 25 minutes to reach that double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

A big factor in his success against Ohio was staying out of foul trouble.

“I think it's just playing a little too aggressive, especially [because] I'm playing against guys who are a little bit bigger than me size-wise so I got to be a little bit quicker and a little faster,” Freeman said of that recent issue. “So I have to just adjust throughout the game with our opponent.”

Freeman's only blemish in the game was missing two valuable free throws with under three minutes to play that would have given UA some breathing room.

Focus on Xavier Castaneda gave others opportunities

Freeman wasn't the only Zips player to take advantage of an Ohio defense focused on Castaneda. Sammy Hunter and Trendon Hankerson were efficient from 3-point range, each making all three of his attempts to lead UA to a 9-of-16 performance from deep. Those 3-pointers were a key difference in the game.

Hankerson finished with 14 points, shaking off single-digit efforts in UA’s prior two games.

“I’m really happy for Trendon because he had struggled shooting the ball the other day," Groce said. "Not typical of him, but I've tried to tell him, like, ‘Hey, that's a part of your game. There's other things you do — lead your voice, you're intelligent, you defend, continue to bring those things to the table, your shot making will come.' And it was good to see him make some shots today.”

Hankerson said the key to busting out was just sticking with it during practices.

The Zips were dominant rebounding the ball

After inconsistently rebounding against Western Michigan and eking out an rebounding advantage against Miami, the Zips dominated the glass 33-23 against Ohio. No, it doesn’t hurt when Freeman grabs 15 of them.

There were two reasons for that against the Bobcats.

“I think, one, we were a little bit more locked in there,” Groce said. “And, two, Freeman was — I mean he was a monster today.”

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Enrique Freeman posts double-double for Akron men in MAC win over Ohio