Western came started play with quick and frequent ball movement aiming to get the ball in the paint and was heavily crashing the boards but struggled to get past the Zips stout defense.
That left Akron shooters open around the perimeter and the Zips took advantage, shooting 56.3% from beyond the arc in the first half. The teams went into the locker room with a score of 50-34.
As the second half started play, Western’s adjustments were apparent. Led by junior guard Thomas Wilder, the Broncos picked up their pace-of-play and forced the Zips to chase them from half to half.