It was exciting as expected, but it was Akron who drained big 3-pointer, after big 3-pointer down the stretch to knock off UC Irvine, and move into the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational championship game.
Antino Jackson led the way with 23 points, while Josh Williams added 18 points, and two more reached double figures as the Zips improve to 9-3 on the year.
Both teams traded runs, buckets, and 3-pointers in the opening half playing to a 42-40 Akron lead at halftime after an eventful first half.
UC Irvine turned a 17-16 lead into a 30-19 lead after 3-pointers from Jaron Martin, Max Hazzard, and then Ioannis Dimakopoulos at the 8:53 mark of the first half capping a 16-3 run.