By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, OH---Joe Retic II posted his first collegiate triple-double as the Express men's basketball team defeated the University of Akron club team 92-63 in the SHAC tonight.

It was the final home game of the season for the Express.

Retic finished with 13 points, along with team-highs in rebounds (12), assists (11) and steals (3). He shot 5-for-10 from the field (1-for-2 from 3-point range) and 2-for-2 from the foul line.

While Retic was doing his thing, James Kelly had a team-high 28 points in his final home game. He finished 11-for-15 from the field (1-for-3 from 3-point range) and 5-for-7 from the foul line. He finished third on the team with eight rebounds, while adding one assist, one block and one steal.

Freshmen Andy Bachman and Javon Rice each added nine points off the bench, while sophomore Chris Wilson had nine rebounds off the bench - good for second on the team.

As a team, the Express shot 37-for-74 (50 percent) from the field, 10-for-30 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range and 8-for-12 from the foul line. They outrebounded Akron 49-36, which included a 12-8 advantage on the offensive glass.

Aside from Kelly and Wilson, the other sophomores playing in their final home game were: Jay Marquette (seven points), Franklin Lindsey (five points), Kelvin Clark (five points), and Darius Washington (two points).

Markese Allen had seven assists off the bench, which was second behind Retic. He now has 113 assists this year, also second behind Retic.

Michael Hammonds led Akron with 24 points and six rebounds, while Gabe Stanley added 15 points. As a team, they finished 25-for-68 from the field (36.8 percent), 6-for-17 (35.3 percent) from 3-point range and 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from the foul line.

Notes

The Express are now 22-8 overall and 10-2 in the OCCAC. They still have a chance at sharing the OCCAC championship should Lakeland lose tomorrow, but they are guaranteed no worse than second place.

With their regular season complete, the Express will now open district tournament play against an opponent yet TBD on March 8.

Kelly recorded his 100th career steal tonight and now has 99 career blocks, which ties the program's record. With one more block, he would become the first Express men's basketball player in its history to record 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds, 100 career blocks and 100 career steals. He leads the team in all four categories this year (561 points, 308 rebounds, 42 blocks and 48 steals). 

Retic now has a team-high 151 assists this year. Tonight was his fourth game this year with double digit assists, and it is one off his season high of 12, which came on Jan. 4 against Washtenaw Community College.

Retic's rebound total marked his season-high. It was his first game in double figures in rebounding.

Retic's three assists tied a season-high, which he has reached five times this year. He has 44 steals this year, which is second on the team behind Kelly.