The Dustin Ford era at the University of Akron is off to a flying start at home. The Zips routed Division III Muskingum 112-64 on Monday night, November 9, at Rhodes Arena, in Ford’s regular-season home debut as Akron’s head coach, according to the Akron Beacon Journal.
Point guard Tahj Staveskie led Akron with 22 points, doing most of his damage in a first half that ended with the Zips ahead 62-27. Staveskie buried six 3-pointers before halftime, when he already had 20 points, the Beacon Journal reported. Guard Ty Pence added 13 points, forward Colin White scored 11, and forward Buddy Hammer Jr. grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go with eight points.
The win extended Akron’s home winning streak to 32 games, the Beacon Journal reported. The Zips (2-0) opened the season on the road with a 75-61 win at Louisiana on November 2. Ford, a longtime assistant under John Groce, took over the program after Groce left on March 30 to coach the College of Charleston.
Monday’s game carried a family storyline for the new head coach. Ford’s late father, Gene Ford, was a standout player and later a head coach at Muskingum, and a legendary coach at Cambridge High School, where Dustin Ford and his brother Geno played for him, the Beacon Journal reported. Guard Phil Towns led Muskingum with 13 points.
The numbers showed a wire-to-wire mismatch. Akron shot 56 percent from the field (42-of-75), outscored Muskingum 58-18 in the paint, and won the rebounding battle 48-25 and the turnover battle 19-10, according to the Beacon Journal. Wing Evan Mahaffey filled the box score with eight points, five assists and four steals.
Before tipoff, Akron celebrated last season’s Mid-American Conference Tournament championship with a ring presentation and banner unveiling, the Beacon Journal reported. The Zips became the first MAC men’s program to three-peat as conference tournament champions last season. Akron also honored legendary Zips player Len Paul, who died in August at age 76, with a scoreboard tribute.
Akron entered the night with a 31-game home winning streak, and the Beacon Journal noted that only Akron and Duke had been perfect at home over the past two seasons. With the streak now at 32, the Zips will try to keep Rhodes Arena one of the toughest stops in the MAC as Ford’s first season continues.
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