Duvivier Leads Zips to an 82-67 Win Over Northern Illinois

Saturday, January 20

Akron, OH

4:30 p.m.

University of Akron

9-9 (2-4MAC)

Northern Illinois

9-10(2-4MAC)

NORTHERN ILLINOIS

AKRON

Duvivier Leads Zips to an 82-67 Win Over Northern Illinois

January 20 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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AKRON, Ohio – Another red-hot shooting night from graduate transfer guard Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) and all-around excellent marksmanship from 3-point range propelled the Akron Zips to an 82-67 Mid-American Conference win over the Northern Illinois Huskies Saturday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Duvivier made 4-of-7 of his 3-point field goals, scoring 17 points, and added four assists and three rebounds to power an Akron offense that made a season-high 15-of-31 3-pointers to take control and earn the Zips their second MAC win of the season. The 15 made 3-pointers tied Akron's season high, set in a Nov. 18 win over UT-Martin.

Four Zips scored in double figures as freshman Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wisc.) matched Duvivier's 17-point total, nailing five 3-pointers while shooting 50 percent from deep. Sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) buried 4-of-6 shots from long distance en route to a 16-point effort, while junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) recorded his second double-double of the season via 15 points and 10 rebounds with a team-best five assists.

Both teams got off to a slow start, with neither side reaching double digits until the 13:23 mark of the opening half. Akron was able to get itself on track thanks to a trio of 3-pointers by Duvivier and Cotton, with Duvivier hitting the first two and Cotton pushing the Zips (9-9, 2-4 MAC) to the game's largest lead of the first 10 minutes, a 19-11 edge at the 9:58 mark of the half.

Back-to-back layups by freshman Torrey Patton (Cincinnati, Ohio) pushed the lead to 10 points, extending a 17-2 run for the hosts. A pair of free throws by freshman guard Gairgas Deow ended the Akron run, but the Huskies (9-10, 2-4 MAC) were unable to close the gap in the final seven minutes of the half despite multiple driving layups by junior guard Dante Thorpe.

The Zips headed to the locker room at the half with a 43-30 edge, fueled by a massive advantage from beyond the arc. With 9-of-17 shooting from long range and the Huskies missing 4-of-5 3-pointers in the frame, Akron was plus-24 in that category for the opening 20 minutes.

Akron's offensive success during the first half stemmed largely from good ball movement and passing as the Zips had 10 assists on 14 made field goals during that time, while Northern Illinois didn't record a single assist before intermission. Northern Illinois, which ranks last in the MAC in assists per game, tallied just four on the night. All eight players that entered the game for Akron had at least one assist as the Zips posted 19 helpers on 29 made field goals.

The Huskies were able to keep themselves relatively close in the first half thanks to a staggering 13-3 edge at the foul line, where they attempted 17 shots to Akron's three in the period. For the game, Northern Illinois attempted 33 free throws to Akron's 12 charity tosses.

The Huskies were able to cut their deficit to nine early in the second half, 50-41, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Utomi and Ivey pushed the lead back to 15. Moments later, a string of five straight 3-pointers - three by Utomi with one each by Ivey and Duvivier - boosted Akron to a 64-44 lead.

Despite a few last-ditch rally attempts by the visitors in the final eight minutes of the game, the Zips were able to hold on for a valuable conference win.

Sophomore guard Eugene German led Northern Illinois with 16 points, while Daow and Thorpe each had 14 in defeat.

Akron is back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 23, when the Zips host the Ohio Bobcats at 7 p.m. at James A. Rhodes Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on 1350-AM.