Akron Wins Seventh Straight at the Jar, Ends Non-Conference Schedule with 86-49 Win over Concord

Friday, December 29

Akron, Ohio

7 p.m.

University of Akron

7-5

Concord

8-4

CONCORD

AKRON

Akron Wins Seventh Straight at the Jar, Ends Non-Conference Schedule with 86-49 Win over Concord

December 29 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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AKRON, Ohio – Playing at home for the first time in 13 days, the Akron Zips took advantage of their home court edge, racing past Concord 86-49 in both teams' final contest of 2017.

The Zips snapped a three-game losing streak and closed out the year with a suffocating defensive effort, holding the Mountain Lions to 5-of-33 shooting (15.2 percent) in the first half to pull away for the easy win. Akron dominated the paint, blocking five shots and outrebounding Concord by eight before intermission.

Sophomore forward Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) led the block party with three rejections before the half and finished with eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocks on the night.

Using the strong defensive effort, Akron held Concord without a field goal for 6:26 late in the first half, with a jumper by freshman guard Malik Johnson breaking the streak, which saw Concord (8-4) score only a free throw as the Zips (7-5) staged a 20-1 run.

Junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) and graduate transfer guard Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Canada) led the first-half surge with 14 and 12, respectively, and Ivey and Duvivier each finished with a team-leading 24 on the night. Sophomore guard Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) was the only other Akron player in double figures with 15.

Duvivier hit a career-high 7-of-11 from 3-point range, spearheading a long-distance shooting barrage that saw Akron convert 12-of-25 (48.0 percent) from behind the arc, including 6-of-9 in the second half. It was Duvivier's third straight game with at least five made 3-pointers.

For the game, Akron limited Concord to 18-of-66 (27.3 percent) shooting. The Mountain Lions missed their first 12 3-pointers and didn't connect from behind the arc until the 11:34 mark of the second half, when sophomore guard Trey Brisco sank a shot from the right wing to make the score 64-30 in favor of the hosts.

The Zips never trailed, taking an early lead on a 3-pointer by Ivey and extending that margin to as many as 42 late in the game. Eleven players saw action for first-year head coach John Groce and eight tallied points in the victory, which extended Akron's home record to 7-0 on the season.

It was the second foray into Northeast Ohio for Concord this year, as the Mountain Lions - an NCAA Division II program playing in the Mountain East Conference - lost to Notre Dame College in November. Akron won its final game before beginning Mid-American Conference play next week.

The Zips return to action Tuesday, Jan. 2 in Kalamazoo, Mich. as they take on MAC West foe Western Michigan as both squads kick off conference play. Tip is set for 7 p.m. at University Arena and the game can be heard on 1350-AM.