GAME NOTES: One of only three teams in the Mid-American Conference with double-digit wins heading into the weekend, the Akron Zips try to build on their early success with a bout against Bowling Green tonight at Rhodes Arena. The Zips pulled off a thrilling 55-54 win over Ohio University on Thursday night at home, moving the team to a perfect 9-0 in their own building. The victory was the third in a row and the eighth in nine games for Akron, the lone loss coming in overtime versus Dayton earlier this month. As for the Falcons, they also played three nights ago and defeated Buffalo with an 83-70 decision, marking the team's highest scoring output of the campaign. The win was the second in three games for a team that has not won back-to-back outings since the middle of November. The Falcons lead the all-time series with Akron by a count of 23-15, although the Zips have defeated BGSU in five straight, including a 93-87 win in the most recent contest last season.

The Falcons shot better than 53 percent from the field both in the first and second halves on Thursday night, easily taking the double-digit win at home over Buffalo. Brian Moten tallied 20 points, leading four players in double figures, while Otis Polk registered a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards off the bench. Also scoring 13 points each were Darryl Clements and Joe Jakubowski, the former handing out seven assists as well. Moten's offensive outburst was an exception to the rule as far as his play this season is concerned, with him averaging just 5.9 ppg. Nate Miller is the top scorer for the unit with his 13.4 ppg, but he's shooting just 25 percent from three-point range and 62.3 percent at the free-throw line. As a team, BGSU checks in with 65.6 ppg heading into this contest. Defensively, the Falcons are limiting opponents to just 40.2 percent shooting from the floor and 29.6 percent behind the three-point line, resulting in 67.2 ppg.

Nate Linhart's layup in the waning moments brought the Zips back and gave them the exciting one-point win over Ohio earlier this week. Linhart made 5-of-8 shots from the field on the night to finish with a team-high 12 points, while Jeremiah Wood tossed in 10 points in the victory as well. Akron shot just 43.1 percent from the field and was 2-of-6 at the free-throw line in the close call. Wood, who is shooting better from the field (.551) so far this season than he is at the free-throw line (.542), leads the team in scoring with his 14.7. He is also first on the glass with eight and a half boards per game, though that average has dropped to only 5.3 rpg in league play. Nick Dials adds 12.9 ppg, but is a mere 38.7 percent shooter from the floor. Defensively the team is limiting foes to just 63.6 ppg, more than 10 points less than the Zips are scoring over the course of 16 games.

A dominant team at home this season, Akron hit a bit of a bump on Thursday, but the squad should have it out of its system, leading to a win over the Falcons.