Akron Hosts Final Non-Conference Game Against Concord on Friday, Dec. 29

Friday, December 29

Akron, Ohio

7 p.m.

University of Akron

Concord

Tickets

Akron Hosts Final Non-Conference Game Against Concord on Friday, Dec. 29

December 28 | Men's Basketball

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Akron Zips (6-5) Mid-American vs Concord (8-3) Mountain East (DII)
Friday, Dec. 29 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7:00 PM ET • ESPN3

Concord Head Coach
Todd May (Ohio '01)
Overall Record: 19-20 (2nd Season)
Record at Concord: 19-20 (2nd Season)

Akron Zips Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Overall Record: 186-136 (10th Season)
Record at Akron: 6-5 (First Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 0-0 (First Season)
Overall MAC Record: 34-30 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
First Meeting: 0-0 - Groce vs Concord: 0-0

Broadcast
TV/Video: ESPN3 – Michael Reghi (PxP) and Jacki Windon (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats
Radio: Akron-IMG Sports Network - Steve French (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) WARF 1350 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio, TuneIn.com/Akron Zips

What's Ahead
The Akron Zips wrap up their non-conference schedule against Division II opponent Concord University from the Mountain East Conference in Akron, Ohio. The Zips and the Mountain Lions are scheduled to play Friday, Dec. 29 at 7:00 p.m. ET at James A. Rhodes Arena. The game is scheduled to air on ESPN3 as Michael Reghi will call the action and Jacki Windon will provide analysis.

Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats or by Zips' radio. The Zips' radio broadcast will air on the Akron-IMG Sports Network SportsRadio 1350 AM (WARF) in Akron (flagship) with Steve French calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. The pregame show starts 30 minutes prior to the contest. The free audio stream is available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.

The Akron-Concord Series
Friday's game marks the first meeting in series history between the Zips and Mountain Lions. In addition, it is Zips' head coach John Groce first meeting against Concord.

Scouting the Mountain Lions
Concord enters the game with an 8-3 overall record, and riding a five-game winning streak. The Mountain Lions last setback was to Marshall, a common opponent, in an exhibition game on Nov. 26. Concord fell 106-70. The Mountain Lions average 81.5 points per outing on 44.7 percent shooting from the floor with a 32.1 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 8.8 triples a game.

The Mountain Lions have two players scoring in double figures as Tommy Bolte leads the squad with 34.1 points per game. Bolte shoots 57.1 percent from the field (96-of-168), including a 35.9 percentage from behind the 3-point arc with 14 made triples (14-of-39). He leads the squad at the free throw line, cashing in 67 times on 75 attempts for an 89.3 free throw percentage. He dished out a team-best 50 assists while adding 4.3 rebounds per game (34), 19 steals, and three blocked shots. B.J. Hamlet follows with 15.2 points per contest. Hamlet is 57-of-141 from the floor with a 40.4 shooting percentage. He has buried a team-high 37 shots from deep at a 37.4 percent rate (37-of-99). In addition,

Defensively, Concord limits their opponents to 77.1 points per game with a 44.2 shooting percentage from the floor and 28.9 percent from 3-point range, allowing 6.0 long distance strikes per night. The Mountain Lions have caused 165 turnovers (15.0 to/g) with 72 steals (6.5 stl/g). In addition, Concord has been slightly outrebounded by a -2.3 margin on the glass, 404-429.

The Zips in Hawaii
Akron is 2-9 all-time in Hawaii as the Zips made their second appearance at the Diamond Head Classic (0-3). Akron made two previous trips to Hawaii. In 1991-92, Akron went 0-2 at the Hawaiian Pre-Holiday Tournament, falling to Detroit (55-54) and Idaho State (93-87). During the 2001-02 season, the Zips went 1-2 in the Hawaiian Pacific Thanksgiving Classic, posting a win over Liberty (90-56) after falling to Monmouth (64-61) and Hampton (67-59). In 2013-14, Akron posted a 1-2 record at its first appearance in the Diamond Head Classic, defeating Oregon State (83-71) in the opener before falling to Iowa State (83-60) and South Carolina (69-59).

Regular Season Tournaments
Akron is 60-38, 39-31 in the Division I era (since 1980) in regular season tournaments. Akron has posted multiple wins in 11 of the last 12 in-season tournaments, including three championships. The Zips won two tournaments last season, the Savannah Invitational (4-0) and Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational (2-0). In 2015-16, Akron went 2-0 at the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic to claim the title. In 2014-15, Akron posted a 2-1 record in the Gildan Charleston Classic following the previous tournament runs at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off (2012, 2-1), 2K Sports Classic (2011, 2-2), the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic (2010, 3-1), the Glenn Wilkes Classic (2009, 2-2), the Legends Classic (2008, 2-2), the Top of the World Classic (2007, 2-1) and the San Juan Shootout (2005, 2-1).

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES DIAMOND HEAD CLASSIC NOTES
Game 3
Davidson 91, Akron 78
-Davidson is now 1-2 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-Akron is now 1-5 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-The Atlantic 10 (A-10) is now 6-6 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-The Mid-America Conference (MAC) is now 4-8 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-Davidson's 91 points are third for a single game in Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic history.
-Davidson's Kellan Grady's 30 points were tied for 10th in Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic history before the Championship game. The 30-point scorers were pushed to 11th all-time.
-Davidson took the lead for good with 4:57 to play in the first half and never trailed again.
-Davidson used an 11-2 run to open a 14-point lead and never trailed by less than eight again.

Game 2
Princeton 64, Akron 62
-Princeton is now 1-1 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-Akron is now 1-4 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-The Ivy League is now 3-2 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-The Mid-America Conference (MAC) is now 4-7 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-There were nine ties and eight lead changes in the game decided by a layup at the horn.
-Princeton used a 20-9 run after trailing by seven at 37-30 to take the second half lead. The Tigers were tied by the Zips three more times afterward, but never trailed, before getting the winning shot.
-It was Princeton's second game in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic decided by the game's last shot.

Game 1
USC 84, Akron 53
-USC tied the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Record for most point in the second half with 55 (Ohio, vs. DePaul, 2014)
-The Trojans started the second half on a 31-7 run over the first 10 minutes on the way to outscoring Akron 55-20.
-The 31-point differential is the second largest winning margin in Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic history. The largest was 33 points (Baylor 83, San Diego 50 in 2010).
-USC is now 4-0 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-Akron is now 1-3 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-The Pac-12 is now 14-8 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.
-The Mid-America Conference (MAC) is now 4-6 in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

UP NEXT
Akron opens the new year with Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 2 against Western Michigan. The Zips will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. on the first of day of the new year to gear up for Tuesday's MAC opener at 7 p.m. ET at University Arena.