Akron held off Tulane 65-63 on Saturday, Nov. 14, at James A. Rhodes Arena, improving to 3-0 and extending its home winning streak to 33 games, the University of Akron’s athletics department reported. Evan Mahaffey drove for the game-winning layup in the final minute, the Akron Beacon Journal reported in its live coverage of the game.
The finish was a scramble. The score was tied 63-63 at a timeout with 1:02 left, the Beacon Journal reported, after Tulane guard Krystian Lewis hit a three-pointer with 2:12 left to give the Green Wave a 63-62 lead, Crescent City Sports reported. Mahaffey’s layup put Akron back in front — the Beacon Journal put it at 55.5 seconds left. On Tulane’s last possession, guard KJ Greene drove for a layup that missed, and Akron guard Ty Pence secured the rebound after the ball had been tipped, the Akron Beacon Journal reported.
It was Akron’s first home game under new head coach Dustin Ford, and the Zips prevailed in his home debut at the helm, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Tipoff was at 12:02 p.m., and the noon crowd at the JAR got a game that swung wildly in both halves, the Beacon Journal reported.
Akron controlled the first half. The Zips ran off a 12-0 run to lead 14-4 with 11:42 left in the half, stretched it to 26-14, and led 36-26 at halftime, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Tulane, though, had already shown it could erase a deficit in a hurry.
The second half proved it. Tulane used a 12-0 run to take a 49-48 lead, then a 14-0 run on the way to a 55-53 lead with 7:31 left, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The teams were tied 60-60 late, and Akron struggled mightily at the free-throw line down the stretch, the Beacon Journal reported — which is how a 10-point halftime lead became a one-possession game.
The stat sheet shows how Akron survived. The Zips outrebounded Tulane 46-35, outscored the Green Wave 36-26 in the paint and 15-7 in second-chance points, while Tulane outscored Akron 12-7 in points off turnovers, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Akron’s athletics department likewise credited the 46-35 rebounding edge and the paint advantage in its recap.
The streak is the story of the young season. At 33 straight home wins, Akron holds the nation’s second-longest home court winning streak, the University of Akron reported. Only Akron and Duke have been perfect at home over the past two seasons, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Tulane fell to 2-2 with the loss in its first road game of the season, Crescent City Sports reported.
Saturday was a full day in Akron beyond the JAR, too. Drivers crossing the city this week will feel the overnight work NewsForce247 reported on, when nightly closures hit Akron’s Central Interchange starting Monday, and the holiday season opened downtown as 154 decorated trees opened Akron Children’s 45th Holiday Tree Festival.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the confirmed facts are the 65-63 final, Mahaffey’s go-ahead layup in the last minute, the 36-26 halftime score, Tulane’s two double-digit second-half runs, and the 33-game home streak, reported consistently by the Akron Beacon Journal, the University of Akron and Crescent City Sports. Individual scoring lines beyond the late-game plays were still being finalized in the official box score as this story published.
For Tulane, it was a first road test that came within one possession of a signature win. The Green Wave had the ball with a chance to steal the game in the final two minutes but could not get its last shots to fall, Crescent City Sports reported. Tulane returns home to face Louisiana Tech on Thursday, the outlet reported.
The last two minutes, as the Akron Beacon Journal and Crescent City Sports reported them, went like this: Lewis’s three put Tulane up 63-62 at 2:12; Akron called timeout at 1:02 with the game tied 63-63; Mahaffey scored the winner inside the final minute; and Greene’s driving attempt at the tie missed, with Pence’s rebound ending it.
What happens next: Akron takes its 3-0 record on the road to Bucknell on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m., the University of Akron reported. The home streak — and the JAR crowd’s run of never seeing a loss in more than two seasons — waits for the Zips’ next home date.
Photo: Kate Sheets, CC BY 3.0