Zips Fall to Flyers on the Road, 73-60

Saturday, November 25

Dayton, OH

7 p.m.

University of Akron

2-1

Dayton

3-2

Team	1	2	F
Akron	37	23	60
Dayton	32	41	73

November 25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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DAYTON – The Akron Zips first road contest of the season was a tale of two halves as Akron fell 73-60 against the Dayton Flyers at UD Arena on Saturday night.

Akron (2-1) held a 37-32 halftime advantage but was outscored 41-23 in the second half. Akron knocked down 50 percent of its shots (14-of-28) in the first half that included a 41.7 percent effort from downtown (5-12). Akron supported its 14 field goals with 13 assists while committing only four turnovers.

In the second half, the tables turned as Dayton (3-2) shot 56.0 percent from the field (14-of-25) with half of the shots coming from behind the 3-point arc. The Flyers posted a 53.8 percent performance from deep (7-of-13) and won the battle of the boards in both halves, finishing with a 36-24 advantage on the glass.

Akron finished the game shooting 44.0 percent from the field (22-of-50), including a 30.0 percent performance from deep (6-of-20), while Dayton shot 51.9 percent from the floor (27-of-52) and 42.9 percent from long distance (9-of-21).

For the third straight game, sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) led the Zips' scoring. He scored 19 points, connecting at 55.6 percent rate from the field (5-of-9) including a 57.1 percent showing from 3-point land. Utomi grabbed a second-best five rebounds and dished out three assists.

Also scoring in double figures was freshman Jaden Sayles (Cincinnati, Ohio). Sayles posted a career-best 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor and a 4-of-7 effort from the charity stripe. Junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds, while sophomore Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) used a perfect 4-of-4 shooting performance to collect eight points.

Dayton was led by Josh Cunningham, who notched a double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Jordan Davis followed with 14 points, while Darrell Davis and Kostas Antetokounmpo rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points each.

Akron opened the game with a 7-0 run as freshman Torrey Patton (Trotwood, Ohio) started the scoring with a 3-pointer from the corner. Olojakpoke followed with an offensive rebound and put back for Akron's second bucket of the game, and Utomi buried a midrange jumper near the top of the key.

Dayton answered with five points on a 3-pointer and a lay-in, but the Zips responded with a pair of free throws from Sayles. The Flyers tied the game with an old-fashioned 3-point play from Antetokounmpo, and a Cunningham layup, gave UD its first lead at the 13-minute mark, 11-9. Dayton extended the lead to four points, 13-9.

Graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) ended the Flyers 8-0 run by splitting a pair of free throws, and Ivey struck from deep, but Dayton still led 15-13 with 11:32 remaining in the half.

Akron regained the lead as Ivey hit a fade-away from the foul line, 17-16, but UD responded with a basket. On the ensuing possession, Parrish knotted the game for a second time with a jumper from free throw line, making the score 19 apiece with 8:24 showing on the clock.

The Flyers broke the stalemate, but Utomi flipped the scoreboard back to Akron's favor with a 3-pointer from the wing. However, Dayton outscored the Zips 8-4 over the next three minutes for a 29-24 advantage at the 3:27 marker.

After the under-4 media timeout, Utomi cashed in on back-to-back 3-pointers which sparked a 13-point run by Akron. Sayles followed with seven straight points on three layups and a free throw to give Akron its largest lead of the night, 37-29. Dayton ended their scoring silence and the half with a triple as the Zips led 37-32 at halftime.

After the break, UD scored the first 13 points of the half to establish an eight-point, 45-37 lead by the first media break at 15:47. At the 15:27 mark, the Zips' scoring drought ended with three free throws by Utomi after getting fouled while attempting a shot from deep. Duvivier followed with a midrange jumper off the glass, but UD responded with its fourth triple of the half, pushing the lead back to six points., 48-43.

Akron tried to weather the storm as Sayles split a two-shot foul and Ivey drove the lane for a layup. Another, field goal and 3-pointer pushed the Flyer lead to eight points and UD eventually extended the lead to double digits, 60-50 with 7:58 left to play in the game.

The Flyers continued to find the bottom of the net, increasing their lead to 70-54 as Cunningham scored 11-straight points for the Flyers. Akron outscored Dayton 6-3 in the final 3:29, but could not overcome the initial run to start the second session.

The Akron Zips will be back at James A. Rhodes Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7 p.m. against UT Chattanooga.