Xavier Castaneda leads balanced Akron men's basketball attack in win at Central Michigan

The University of Akron men’s basketball team complemented balanced scoring with tenacious defense Tuesday night in a 69-51 Mid-American Conference win over Central Michigan at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Four Zips scored in double figures, led by 13 points from point guard Xavier Castaneda. Forward Enrique Freeman grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.

Jesse Zarzuela scored a game-high 20 points for Central Michigan (7-11, 2-3).

The Zips shot 42% (23 of 55) in the game while limiting the Chippewas to 34% (16 of 47). Akron also won the battle on the boards 37-32.

Overall, it was a good, but not perfect night for the Zips (12-6, 4-1).

Defensively, Akron takes a step forward

The Zips forced eight first-half turnovers to set the tone for the rest of the game. They were active on defense, producing seven steals, and most shots were contested. They forced 18 turnovers overall, leading to 13 points.

“I think it's coming around that time of the year where we're starting to lock in, starting to play better defense more consistently,” Castaneda said. “Ao I think that's what we're starting to see.”

The Zips have held their last two opponents to fewer than 70 points.

“I thought our defense was really good all night long,” coach John Groce said. “I thought we were and we've talked about trying to be in an elite defensive team. We're a very good one, but there's some things we got to get cleaned up. I thought tonight we took a step in the right direction with that.”

What needs to be cleaned up?

Playing defense without fouling. UA committed 19 fouls and Freeman fouled out, a fact that didn’t please Groce.

Guard Trendon Hankerson said the defense is trending in the right direction.

“I would say it's definitely getting towards the goals that we set prior to the season,” he said. “I think that we're doing a great job in the gaps and we're doing a great job defending the 3-point line and all that stuff, running guys off the line, because that's kind of our scheme and so it's definitely been coming together. We just want to try to keep that together, keep that our staple.”

A 3-point shot gave the Akron Zips momentum at half

After the Chippewas sprinted out to a 7-0 lead to open the game, the Zips went to work on both ends of the court. With seven players scoring in the first half and UA hitting 52% of its shots in the half, things clearly clicked offensively. But it’s conceivable a 3-point shot by Nate Johnson, who was wide open for a pass from Castaneda, provided some energy and momentum going into the halftime to give UA a 36-26 lead. Johnson hit the shot with less than a second left in the half. The Zips closed out the first half on a 14-4 run.

That energy carried over into the second half as the Zips had their way offensively, shooting 44% for the game. UA opened the second half on an 18-6 run and took command of the game.

“I think it was a big shot by Nate, especially to close the half,” Castaneda said.

Hankerson agreed.

“It definitely gave us a little bit of momentum going into halftime, stretch the lead a little bit more,” he said.

Akron guard Trendon Hankerson finding his way

When he played at Northern Illinois, Hankerson averaged double-digit scoring his senior season. The graduate transfer, much like Sammy Hunter, has worked to find his way with the Zips. He hit double figures for the second consecutive game and, like Hunter, appears more comfortable and thus more confident in what he’s doing on the court. He was more decisive Tuesday and it showed up in the box score.

“My comfort level has definitely risen. Just conference play, having been in the conference, I know the competition level as well,” he said.

Akron Zips forward Sammy Hunter continues to score

Prior to recent success, Hunter took some advice from his mother. “Just focus,” she told him.

Hunter struggled earlier in the season, but with his third consecutive game scoring double figures (12 against the Chippewas), he appears to have hit his stride. That's what Groce and his staff expected. Hunter was effective on both ends of the floor, but especially offensively, shooting an efficient 4 of 5 despite playing while ill, according to Groce.

Reach George M. Thomas at gthomas@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips men's basketball wins at Central Michigan