AKRON, Ohio -- Akron Zips point guard Alex Abreu was arrested on drug charges Thursday and suspended from the basketball team just as the Zips were poised to make a season-ending run toward the NCAA Tournament.

According to Akron Police, narcotics unit detectives arrested Abreu, 21, of East Exchange Street and Austin L. Durgala, 18, of East Dartmore Street in Akron, for trafficking in marijuana and possession of marijuana.

They were charged after detectives seized over 5 pounds of marijuana at Durgala’s residence, the statement said. Abreu and Durgala were booked into the Summit County Jail. They are scheduled for an arraignment hearing in Akron Municipal Court at 9 a.m. today.

The university immediately suspended Abreu pending the outcome of the investigation.

Akron head coach Keith Dambrot, clearly overcome by the news, would only say, “I can’t talk. I can’t talk,” when reached Thursday night.

The arrest leaves Abreu’s personal future and the Zips immediate hoop dreams in serious question.

Abreu, the only true point guard on the team, has often said his goals were to bring national attention to the university and help make a push for a national championship.

He said he felt the Zips were a complete team.

“We have so many players it doesn’t matter if I can’t do it, or Tree (Demetrius Treadwell) or Zeke (Marshall), because it’s hard for all 10 of us to have a bad day,” Abreu said recently. “That’s what makes our team so complete and hard to beat.”

That will now be put to the test.

In 29 games this season, the 5-10 junior averaged 10.3 points per game, 6.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds. He shot 41 percent from the field and 81 percent from the free-throw line.

But more than his stats, Abreu has been the leader on the floor for the Zips. Abreu helped Akron clinch its second straight Mid-American Conference regular-season title on Tuesday. The Zips are 24-5 on the season and play rival Kent State at 7 p.m. Friday in UA's Rhodes Arena. The game will be shown on ESPN2.

Akron had been heavily favored to win the MAC Tournament — which begins Monday at campus sites, then plays out at The Q beginning on Wednesday — and advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third time since 2009.

Akron has yet to record an NCAA Tournament win, but this team seemed primed to deliver that, and perhaps more.

The Zips have it all: experience, size, shooting and depth. Abreu had been a three-year starter, talented 7-0 senior center Zeke Marshall has started each of his four years, while senior Brian Walsh and junior Demetrius Treadwell are both in their second seasons as starters. Junior forward Nick Harney has been solid.

Their bench is strong, with senior Chauncey Gilliam plus talented freshmen Pat Forsythe, Reggie McAdams and Jake Kretzer providing support. Even with the preseason loss of versatile 6-5 senior Quincy Diggs to a season-long suspension, the Zips clearly had the ingredients to run through the league.

The only weak link was proven experience behind Abreu. Fellow Puerto Rican, 5-11 freshman Carmelo Betancourt (1.8 points, 1.4 assists), has been Abreu’s understudy. Now the job is apparently his.

Dambrot minced no words in talking about Abreu’s importance to the team. “If he got hurt, we’d be in trouble,” he said late last month for a Plain Dealer story about his point guard.

Now, the Zips are about to find out just how much trouble.