The University of Akron Athletics
Thursday, March 8
Cleveland, Ohio
9 P.M.
University of Akron
14-18
58
vs
67
Eastern Michigan University
21-11
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| AKRON | 31 | 27 | 58 |
| Eastern Michigan | 22 | 45 | 67 |
Eastern Michigan Rallies Past Akron in MAC Tournament Quarterfinals, 67-58
March 08 | Men's Basketball
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Box Score PDF | Postgame Quotes: Akron | Eastern Michigan | Game Notes PDF | 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament Central | Bracket
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The University of Akron men's basketball team saw its 2017-18 campaign come to a close in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference as third-seeded Eastern Michigan parlayed a second-half comeback into a 67-58 victory past the 11th-seeded Zips on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Akron concluded its initial season under head coach John Groce with a 14-18 ledger, while the Eagles advanced to face Toledo in the semifinals with a 21-11 record.
Eastern Michigan garnered the victory on the strength of a 21-1 run over the final 6:57 to erase a double-digit deficit while the Zips missed their final 10 shots of the contest.
Sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) paced Akron with a team-high 14 points, while adding 13 points apiece was senior Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) and freshman Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas). Elijah Minnie scored a game-best 21 points for the Eagles, including 15 points in the second half.
The Zips finished the evening shooting nearly 40 percent (.396) from the field, including making nine three pointers. Buoyed by connecting on 61.9 percent of its second-half shots, Eastern Michigan concluded the affair making 45.7 percent of its attempts from the floor.
Akron won the battle of the boards, 32-31, owning a 13-8 edge on the offensive glass, while the Eagles outscored the Zips in the paint, 28-16.
Duvivier gave the Zips an early 3-0 advantage in the game connecting on a triple at the 19:05 mark which began an overall 10-0 spread over the opening 4:54 of the affair to give Akron a double-digit edge.
After three straight baskets by the Eagles, junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) delivered a three-pointer at the 13:19 mark to push the Zips' lead to 13-7.
Eastern Michigan cut Akron's advantage to 15-12 before the Zips went on a 5-0 run to extend the margin to eight, 20-12, with 6:19 before halftime.
Following a triple by Minnie, Akron garnered layups from Parrish and Utomi to push their lead to nine, 24-15, at the 4:49 mark.
The two teams split the final 14 points of the initial stanza as the Zips took a nine-point, 31-22 lead into the intermission.
Akron connected on 44.4 percent of its attempts in the opening half, including draining five triples. The Eagles were limited to a 32 percent shooting mark in the first half and were just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Duvivier paced all players in the initial 20 minutes of play with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, including make a trio of three pointers. Adding seven points apiece was Utomi and Parrish. Tim Bond led Eastern Michigan with a team-best seven points.
The Zips outrebounded the Eagles in the first half 20-13, including an 8-5 edge on the offensive glass. Akron also parlayed six Eastern Michigan turnovers into a 12-4 spread in points off of turnovers.
The Zips opened the half with Duvivier nailing his fourth three pointer of the evening to push the margin to 12, 34-22.
After an Eastern Michigan basket made it 34-24, Ivey stuck a corner three-ball to extend the lead to 13, 37-24, with 18:18 left to play. The margin swelled to 14, 40-26, with Parrish dialing long distance with a triple from the corner at the 17:14 mark.
The Zips began the final period making three of their first five shots, all from beyond the arc.
Akron's defense stepped up holding the Eagles without a field goal for nearly six minutes (5:38), while using a 7-2 run of its own to lead 47-28 after a Utomi jumper at the 12:30 mark.
Eastern Michigan fired back a run of its own outscoring the Zips 7-0 over the next 1:02 before a layup by Parrish with 10:37 remaining ended the surge and gave Akron a 49-35 lead.
The Eagles edged back to within eight points after a dunk by James Thompson with 7:30 remaining in the game.
Freshman Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored his first points of the evening at the 6:57 mark making a corner triple to push the Zips ahead by 11, 57-46.
Eastern Michigan answered with an 11-0 run to square the game at 57 after a three pointer by Jordan Nobles at the 3:15 mark.
The Eagles took their first lead of the tilt and went ahead to stay on a layup and a free throw by Paul Jackson with 2:23 to play.
Duvivier ended the 14-0 Eastern Michigan surge with a free throw at the 1:59 mark to bring the Zips within two, 60-58.
The Eagles closed the game outscoring Akron, 7-0 to earn their first-ever tournament victory over the Zips in six games.
Box Score PDF | Postgame Quotes: Akron | Eastern Michigan | Game Notes PDF | 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament Central | Bracket
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The University of Akron men's basketball team saw its 2017-18 campaign come to a close in the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference as third-seeded Eastern Michigan parlayed a second-half comeback into a 67-58 victory past the 11th-seeded Zips on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Akron concluded its initial season under head coach John Groce with a 14-18 ledger, while the Eagles advanced to face Toledo in the semifinals with a 21-11 record.
Eastern Michigan garnered the victory on the strength of a 21-1 run over the final 6:57 to erase a double-digit deficit while the Zips missed their final 10 shots of the contest.
Sophomore Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) paced Akron with a team-high 14 points, while adding 13 points apiece was senior Malcolm Duvivier (Toronto, Ontario) and freshman Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas). Elijah Minnie scored a game-best 21 points for the Eagles, including 15 points in the second half.
The Zips finished the evening shooting nearly 40 percent (.396) from the field, including making nine three pointers. Buoyed by connecting on 61.9 percent of its second-half shots, Eastern Michigan concluded the affair making 45.7 percent of its attempts from the floor.
Akron won the battle of the boards, 32-31, owning a 13-8 edge on the offensive glass, while the Eagles outscored the Zips in the paint, 28-16.
Duvivier gave the Zips an early 3-0 advantage in the game connecting on a triple at the 19:05 mark which began an overall 10-0 spread over the opening 4:54 of the affair to give Akron a double-digit edge.
After three straight baskets by the Eagles, junior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) delivered a three-pointer at the 13:19 mark to push the Zips' lead to 13-7.
Eastern Michigan cut Akron's advantage to 15-12 before the Zips went on a 5-0 run to extend the margin to eight, 20-12, with 6:19 before halftime.
Following a triple by Minnie, Akron garnered layups from Parrish and Utomi to push their lead to nine, 24-15, at the 4:49 mark.
The two teams split the final 14 points of the initial stanza as the Zips took a nine-point, 31-22 lead into the intermission.
Akron connected on 44.4 percent of its attempts in the opening half, including draining five triples. The Eagles were limited to a 32 percent shooting mark in the first half and were just 2-for-11 from beyond the arc.
Duvivier paced all players in the initial 20 minutes of play with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting, including make a trio of three pointers. Adding seven points apiece was Utomi and Parrish. Tim Bond led Eastern Michigan with a team-best seven points.
The Zips outrebounded the Eagles in the first half 20-13, including an 8-5 edge on the offensive glass. Akron also parlayed six Eastern Michigan turnovers into a 12-4 spread in points off of turnovers.
The Zips opened the half with Duvivier nailing his fourth three pointer of the evening to push the margin to 12, 34-22.
After an Eastern Michigan basket made it 34-24, Ivey stuck a corner three-ball to extend the lead to 13, 37-24, with 18:18 left to play. The margin swelled to 14, 40-26, with Parrish dialing long distance with a triple from the corner at the 17:14 mark.
The Zips began the final period making three of their first five shots, all from beyond the arc.
Akron's defense stepped up holding the Eagles without a field goal for nearly six minutes (5:38), while using a 7-2 run of its own to lead 47-28 after a Utomi jumper at the 12:30 mark.
Eastern Michigan fired back a run of its own outscoring the Zips 7-0 over the next 1:02 before a layup by Parrish with 10:37 remaining ended the surge and gave Akron a 49-35 lead.
The Eagles edged back to within eight points after a dunk by James Thompson with 7:30 remaining in the game.
Freshman Virshon Cotton (Milwaukee, Wis.) scored his first points of the evening at the 6:57 mark making a corner triple to push the Zips ahead by 11, 57-46.
Eastern Michigan answered with an 11-0 run to square the game at 57 after a three pointer by Jordan Nobles at the 3:15 mark.
The Eagles took their first lead of the tilt and went ahead to stay on a layup and a free throw by Paul Jackson with 2:23 to play.
Duvivier ended the 14-0 Eastern Michigan surge with a free throw at the 1:59 mark to bring the Zips within two, 60-58.
The Eagles closed the game outscoring Akron, 7-0 to earn their first-ever tournament victory over the Zips in six games.
Team Stats
AKRON
EMU
FG%
.396
.457
3FG%
.360
.316
FT%
.538
.864
RB
32
31
TO
15
14
STL
10
12
Game Leaders
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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