Akron Opens Three-Game Homestand Against Fort Wayne

Wednesday, December 6

Akron, Ohio

7 p.m.

University of Akron

IPFW

Buy Tickets

Akron Opens Three-Game Homestand Against Fort Wayne

December 05 | Men's Basketball

Akron Zips (3-2) Mid-American vs Fort Wayne (6-3) Summit League
Wednesday, Dec. 6 • James A. Rhodes Arena • Akron, Ohio • 7 PM ET • ESPN3

Fort Wayne Head Coach
Jon Coffman (Washington & Lee '96)
Overall Record: 66-41 (4th Season)
Record at FW: 66-41 (4th Season)

AKRON ZIPS Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Overall Record: 183-133 (10th Season)
Record at Akron: 3-2 (First Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 0-0 (First Season)
Overall MAC Record: 34-30 (at Ohio and Akron)

All-Time Series
Mastodons Lead: 1-0 | Groce vs Fort Wayne: 1-0
Last Meeting: Fort Wayne 97, Akron 91 | March 19, 2014 at Gates Center

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 Zips are back in action at James A. Rhodes Arena for a three-game homestand before departing for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. Akron opens the home stretch on Wednesday, Dec. 6 against Fort Wayne at 7 p.m., followed by back-to-back 2 p.m. Saturday contests against Appalachian State (Dec. 9) and Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 16). 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.

Scouting The Mastodons
Fort Wayne enters the game with a three-game winning streak and a 6-3 overall record. The Mastodons ended a two-game losing skid against Kentucky (86-67) and ETSU (83-73) with a trio of wins over Detroit Mercy (91-82), IU Kokomo (99-63), and SIUE (86-71). Fort Wayne. averages 83.7 points per outing on 45.0 percent shooting from the floor and a 36.6 percent effort from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 10.8 triples a game.

The 'Dons have three players scoring in double figures led by Bryson Scott with 23.1 points per game on 46.9 percent shooting from the field and 31.6 percent rate from beyond the 3-point with a second-best 18 made 3-pointers. He is the team leader in free throws made (56) and percentage (.836) while adding 46 rebounds, 31 assists, and 18 steals. John Konchar nearly averages a double-double with 13.8 points and a team-high 9.8 rebounds per game. He shoots 47.4 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from deep with 17 triples, while grabbing a team-best 88 rebounds.. Kason Harrell adds 12.6 points per game to the mix. In addition, the Mastodons have buried 97 triples as a team with six players clocking double-digit made 3-point buckets.

Defensively, Fort Wayne limits its opponents to 72.3 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting from the floor and 31.4 percent from 3-point range, allowing only 6.7 long distance strikes per night. The Mastodons have caused 161 turnovers (17.9 to/g) with 72 steals (8.0 stl/g), and boasts a 5.2 advantage on the glass, outrebounding their opponents 353-306.

The Akron-Fort Wayne Series
Saturday's game marks the 2nd meeting in series history between the Zips and the Mastodons with Fort Wayne holding a 1-0 advantage. The two teams met in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) on March 19, 2014. The Mastodons advanced with a 97-91 win over Akron.

Last Time Out Against Fort Wayne
Akron scored a season-high 91 points but struggled on the defensive end as the Zips fell 97-91 at IPFW in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. Akron (21-13) also shot a season-high 64.3 percent from the field (36-of-56) but allowed IPFW (25-10) to connect on 60.0 percent from the field (33-of-55), including 54.5 percent from long range (12-of-22).

Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell led all players with 25 points en route to tying the single-game school record for field goal percentage, hitting 11-of-12 from the field (.917). He added five boards and three assists. Quincy Diggs added 23 points while Nick Harney finished with 12 points. Luis Jacobo led five Mastodons in double figures with 23 points.

The Zips opened the second half the same way as the first, this time hitting seven of their first 11 shots heading into the under-12 media timeout (11:15). Akron would lead by one (63-62) with 11:15 to go. The Mastodons would open an 85-78 lead with 3:57 left on the clock, the largest lead by either team to that point. IPFW's lead would grow to as many as 12 points heading into the final minute. Back-to-back buckets by Diggs would make it a 91-84 game with 54.8 on the clock. Akron would get a stop and another bucket by Diggs to cut the lead to 92-86, but the Zips would not be able to overcome the deficit.

The Zips' shooters came out red hot to start the game, connecting on 8-of-11 attempts to take a 20-15 lead into the under-12 media timeout (11:53). The hot shooting continued for both teams, as the game would stand tied at 40-all with 2:35 on the first-half clock. Diggs would draw a foul on a 3-point attempt just before time expired and would hit 2-of-3 to cut the IPFW lead to 47-46 at the half.

The two teams combined to connect on 36-of-56 attempts in the half (64.3) percent as the Zips went 18-of-27 from the field (66.7 percent). Diggs led the Zips with 11 points and five assists while Treadwell added 10 points and three dimes.

Rebounding After a Loss
Since the start of the 2004-05 season, the Zips have been one of best teams in the nation when it comes to rebounding after a loss.

Excluding season-ending losses, Akron is 93-33 (.738) following a loss. During this run, Akron has only posted 25 losing streaks. In fact, of those 25 losing streaks, 16 have been just two games and 18 have consisted of two or more games on the road (road/neutral site). UA has not lost more than four-straight games in over a decade. The last time Akron lost, five-in-a-row was Jan. 5-19, 2002, under former head coach Dan Hipsher.

John Groce is 1-0 following a loss at Akron.

Stepping into the Spotlight
Sophomore guard/wing Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) opened the 2017-18 season as a starter and used the opportunity to lead the Zips to a season-opening win over Cleveland State with a (then) career-high 20 points. He topped that performance in the second game of the season, dropping 32 points and knocking down a career-best eight 3-pointers to lead Akron to a 76-59 win over UT Martin. Utomi notched 10 first-half points in both contests, while scoring a combined 32 second-half points. He netted 10 second-half points versus CSU and an astounding 22 against UT Martin. In the Zips' third game against Dayton, Utomi led the way again by recording a team-high 19 points with five rebounds and three assists. He continued to lead the Zips scoring through the first five games with a 24-point night against Chattanooga and a 15-point outing against Marshall. Utomi currently leads the team's scoring efforts with 22.0 points per game, shooting 51.4 percent from the floor (36-of-70) and 53.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc with a team-best 22 made triples (22-of-41).

Currently, Utomi ranks first in the NCAA in 3-pointers attempted per game (4.40), 16th in 3-point FG percentage (53.7), 24th in points per game (22.0), and 33rd in rebounds per game (7.0).

Leading a Young Crew
The Akron Zips look to veteran leaders junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) and graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) to navigate through the 2017-18 campaign. Ivey, the only returning starter from last year's squad, has played 71 career games for the blue and gold, starting 32 of those contests. He earned a starting role last season and has averaged 10 points per game for two consecutive seasons (2015-16 and 2016-17). In 2017-18, Ivey ranks third in scoring for Akron with 10.4 points per night and second in rebounds 5.2 and assists 2.4 per outing.

The other seasoned vet on the squad is a transfer from Oregon State. Duvivier played three seasons with the Beavers, accounting for 95 games played with 62 starting appearances. Over that three-year span, he averaged 23.85 minutes per game against some of the best competition in college basketball with 6.56 points, 2.03 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per night. As a sophomore, He scored 10.7 points per game. Only two additional Zips have appeared in more than 30 games for their collegiate careers. In 2017-18, Duvivier averages a second-best 11.0 points with a team-leading 4.6 assists per game (21 assists).

Groce Debuts with a WIN
Zips' head coach John Groce has spent over two decades on the sidelines of a basketball court as a coach and enters his 10th season as the lead man, but first at Akron. On April 6, 2017, Groce was named the 22nd head coach in Akron Basketball history. For the last six and a half months, Groce has been preparing a young team for the new season. On Nov. 11, Groce and the Zips accomplished something that has only been done 10 times in Akron's history, debuting a coaching career with a win. Akron defeated Cleveland State 67-57 in Groce's Akron coaching debut to become the first coach since the 1984-85 season to win their initial game.

In fact, the last coach to start his Akron career with a win was Bob Huggins during the 1984-85 season against Western Illinois, 64-57. Prior to Huggins, six coaches were unsuccessful in accomplishing that feat since Thomas Dowler did so in 1939-40 against Franklin, 34-25.

Utomi Earns MAC EAST PLAYER of the WEEK
Daniel Utomi earned Mid-American East Division Player of the Week honors on November 20 for his career-high performance against UT Martin. Utomi led Akron to its second straight victory of the season on Saturday with a 76-59 win over UT Martin and shattered his career-high scoring record in the process. Utomi recorded a personal best 32 points against the Skyhawks, connecting with a career-high eight 3-pointers. He buried 68.8 percent of his shots from the floor (11-of-16), including a 72.7 percent effort from downtown (8-of-11). Utomi added a 2-of-3 performance from the free throw line along with five rebounds and three assists.

Marshall Defeats Akron
The Akron Zips men's basketball team fell 86-64 to Marshall as The Herd remained unbeaten at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va. With the win, The Herd improved to 5-3 with all five wins coming on their home floor. Akron fell to 3-2 overall, and still remain unbeaten at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron had three players score in double figures, paced by sophomore wing Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) with 15 points. Utomi shot 50 percent from beyond the 3-point arc, knocking down four 3-pointers while grabbing a team-best eight rebounds. Sophomore front court Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) and Graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) followed with 13 and 11 points, respectively. In addition, freshman wing Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) made his first collegiate start and scored the first bucket of the game as he set up his own fast break after stealing Marshall's initial pass.

The Herd's Ajdin Penava quickly responded with a layup to tie the game, scoring his first two points of a double-double that included 20 points and 13 rebounds. The Zips only held one more lead, 6-5, after junior wing Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) cashed in with a midrange jumper at 16:44 in the first half. Marshall's leading scorer, Jon Elmore, scored five of The Herd's initial seven points and finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting with three triples and a 5-of-5 effort from the charity stripe. C.J. Burks also poured in 20 points, as his 3-pointer at the 12:22 mark sparked a 13-0 run, establishing a 24-10 advantage for the home team. Duvivier stopped The Herd's run with a long strike from deep, but another 7-0 run extended Marshall's lead to 20 points, 39-19, with 3:39 remaining in the first half.

The Zips cut the deficit to 13 points several times, but a big play from one of Marshall's 20-point scorers tended to follow. Marshall extended the lead to as many as 23 points, 83-60, before Ivey recorded the Zips' final four points. The game ended with Elmore connecting with his third triple of the night with 1:18 remaining in the game. Ivey finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Utomi Double-Double Lifts Akron to 75-70 Win Over Chattanooga
Senior guard Daniel Utomi scored 24 points, including five straight points late in the contest to push Akron's lead from four points to nine with 1:50 remaining, and made a key steal to help seal a 75-70 win for the Zips over visiting Chattanooga Tuesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena. Utomi, who also registered his first career double-double with 13 rebounds, sank a clutch 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, pushing the Zips (3-1) to a 75-69 lead after the Mocs closed to within three, giving Akron valuable breathing room in the final minute. Utomi's late-game heroics came in a stretch in which he scored 12 points in the final three minutes of the game.

With the Mocs (3-4) having closed to within four at 67-63, Utomi sank two free throws with 2:27 left, then made a steal on defense and converted a conventional three-point play at the other end to give the Zips some breathing room. Graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) added 15 points, including 13 of his team's first 25, as Akron built a large early lead and junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) chipped in with 15 for the Zips, who also outrebounded Chattanooga 31-24.

After tailing by 11 at the half, Chattanooga closed to within four at 51-47 with 10:48 remaining in the game on a 3-pointer by Nat Dixon, but Akron responded with a layup by Utomi and a 3-pointer by freshman guard Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) to push the lead back to nine. Parrish added a team-best five steals. The game remained close throughout the second half as Chattanooga was able to capitalize on being in the bonus for much of the frame, hitting 9-of-13 from the charity stripe in the second period. Both teams struggled with turnovers throughout the contest, with Chattanooga committing 18 miscues and the Zips tallying 17.

Akron trailed only briefly in the game, with Chattanooga seizing an early one-point lead as both teams struggled offensively in the early stages. After the Mocs took an 11-10 lead with 13:06 remaining in the opening stanza, the Zips scored 12 straight as Duvivier rattled off 10 straight, including two 3-pointers, and freshman guard Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wisc.) punctuated the run with a layup to extend the Akron lead to 22-11. The Zips would extend the lead to as many as 16 (35-19) in the first half and shot 50 percent or better from the field, 3-point line and free throw line in the first 20 minutes. They also forced 10 Chattanooga turnovers before the half and outrebounded the Mocs 18-11 during the period. Rodney Chatman led Chattanooga with 19 points, while Dixon contributed 16 in the loss.

Akron Falls to 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. 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.

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.

Akron Downs UT Martin for Second Straight WIN
Sophomore wing Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) dropped a career-high 32 points en route to the Zips second win of the season over UT Martin, 76-59, at James A. Rhodes Arena. Utomi buried a career-high eight 3-pointers as he connected with 68.8 percent of his shots (11-of-16) from the floor and 72.7 percent from deep (8-of-11). He added a 2-of-3 effort from the free throw line along with five rebounds and three assists. Behind Utomi's stellar performance, the Zips moved to 2-0 on the young season, while UT Martin fell to 1-3 overall.

Also scoring in double digits for the Zips was graduate transfer Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario). Duvivier scored 17 points while dishing out four assists and pulling down a rebound. The Oregon State transfer shot 60.0 percent from the field (6-of-10), including a 71.4 percent effort from downtown (5-of-7). Utomi and Duvivier combined for 13 of the Zips' 15 triples and only missed the mark five times total, shooting at a combined 72.2 percent from deep 13-of-18). Junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) added nine points, five rebounds, and a team-high five assists.

Cleveland State Recap
A new era of Akron Basketball began on Saturday evening as the Zips defeated Cleveland State, 67-57, in the season opener at James A. Rhodes Arena in the first of two games of the Northeast Ohio Coaches vs Cancer Doubleheader.

Akron outscored Cleveland State 45-27 in the second half to give first-year head coach John Groce his first win at Akron, becoming the Zips' first coach to debut with a win since Bob Huggins in 1985. In addition, it was head coach John Groce's first-career win against the Vikings as Akron increased the series record to 37-32, including the last four-straight games.

Akron had three players score in double figures as sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) led the scoring efforts with a career-high 20 points. Utomi shot 41.1 percent (7-of-17) from the floor, connecting on four 3-pointers while pulling down four rebounds. Freshman Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) ended the game with a career-best 17 points, six rebounds, and a steal, while junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Cleveland State's Tyree Appleby led the Vikings' offensive efforts with 13 points, shooting 5-of-12 from the floor, followed by Kenny Carpenter with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

UP NEXT
Game two of the three-game homestand is scheduled for a 2 p.m. tipoff against Appalachian State on Saturday, Dec. 2, at James A. Rhodes Arena. Seven days later (Dec. 16), Akron closes out the three-game stretch at 2 p.m. against Mississippi Valley State before departing for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.