Gulf Coast Showcase: Akron Plays App State in Second Round Action

Gulf Coast Showcase: Akron Plays App State in Second Round Action
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Game 5 Notes: Akron vs App State (PDF)

What's Ahead
The Akron Zips are back in action at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla on Tuesday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 pm against Appalachian State at Hertz Arena. The Zips opened the tournament with a 63-43 setback to Fordham on Monday.

Fans can follow the action with FloHoops livestream (subscription required - https://flosports.link/3tmkxC6) or listen to Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen calling the action and Joe Dunn providing analysis. Live stats are also available on GoZips.com.

Akron Zips (2-2) vs App State (2-3)
Tuesday, Nov. 23 • Hertz Arena • Estero, Fla. • 1:30 pm

All-Time Series
Second Meeting: 1-0 Groce vs. App State 1-0 (at Akron)
Last Meeting: Akron 94, App State 89 - Dec. 9, 2017 at James A. Rhodes Arena
First Meeting: Same

Broadcast
TV/Video: FloHoops - https://flosports.link/3tmkxC6
Radio: Akron Sports Network-Dave Skoczen (PxP), Joe Dunn (Analyst)-WHLO 640 AM (iHeart Radio)
Live Stats: GoZips.com/Schedule - Live Stats

App State Head Coach
Dustin Kerns (Clemson '02)
Overall Record: 68-67 (5th season)
Record at App State: 37-30 (3rd Season)
Sun Belt: 18-17 (3rd Season)

Akron Zips Head Coach
John Groce (Taylor '94)
Career Record: 251-182 (13th Season)
Record at Akron: 71-51 (4th Season)
MAC Record at Akron: 40-32 (4th Season)
Overall MAC Record: 74-62 (at Ohio and Akron)

The Akron-Appalachian State Series
The Zips and the Mountaineers have played one time in series history as Akron (1-0) posted a 94-89 win over App State on Dec. 9, 2017 at James A. Rhodes Arena. The two teams are set to meet in the second game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Scouting the Mountaineers
Appalachian State enters the Gulf Coast Showcase with a 2-3 overall mark, falling 75-68 to Delaware in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Mountaineers defeated East Tennessee State (69-67) and Williams Peace (98-49) and fell to Iona (65-53) in the season opener and Charlotte (67-66) before this tournament.

Adrian Delph leads the Mountaineers scoring with 19.6 points per game after scoring 39 points against Delaware. Delph shoots 54.8 percent from the floor (34-of-62) and 51.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (16-of-31). He leads the squad in 3-point FG made and pulls down a team-high 5.8 rebounds per game with 29 total boards. Justin Forrest and Donovan Gregory follow with 9.2 and 7.4 points per game, respectively.

Defensively, App State limits its opponents to 64.6 points per game on 45.1 percent shooting from the floor and 30.5 percent from 3-point range, allowing 7.8 long distance strikes per night. The Mountaineers caused 63 turnovers (12.6 to/g) with 25 steals (5.0 stl/g). App State outrebounds the opponent by a +6.0 margin as the opponents' snagged 147 (29.4 reb/g) total boards compared to the 177 (35.4 reb/g) total rebounds secured.

Regular Season Tournaments
Akron is 66-43 all-time and 45-36 in the Division I era (since 1980) in regular season tournaments and 6-5 over the last three years under Groce (6-8 at Akron). Akron posted 3-1 record in the Global Sports Shootout and 1-1 mark in the DC Holiday Hoops Fest in 2019-20, In 2018-19, the Zips went 2-2 at the Cayman Island Classic, and in Groce's first season, Akron posted an 0-3 mark at the 2018 Diamond Head Classic.

Akron has posted multiple wins in 13 of the last 16 in-season tournaments, including three championships. The Zips won two tournaments in 2016-17, 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).

The Last Time Out Against Mountaineers
The Akron Zips fell behind early and for the second straight game, they roared back for a high-scoring win, downing the visiting Appalachian State Mountaineers 94-89 at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron used a 12-3 run from the 4:32 mark of the second half to seize back control of the game until a 3-pointer by Appalachian State's Tyrell Johnson snapped the run and made the score 88-82 with 46.5 seconds remaining. After rallying from a 79-76 deficit, the Zips then held off the Mountaineers down the stretch despite losing two starters to fouls late in the game.

The Akron offense was a balanced attack, with all five starters scoring eight or more points. As a team, Akron shot 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the field and 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from long range in a winning effort. As a team, the Zips had assists on 17 of their 18 baskets prior the break.

The contest was originally scheduled for 2 p.m., but was delayed by five hours due to travel problems Appalachian State faced with a winter storm that moved through North Carolina. Still, the visitors showed no signs of travel fatigue as they burst out to a 12-4 lead as Griffin Kinney (25 points) and Ronshad Shabazz (26 points) split their team's first 12 points evenly. The duo led the visitors in scoring and combined for 51 of their team's 89 points.

The Akron-Vermont Series
Akron and Delaware have never met on the hardwood. The Zips are scheduled to play Vermont or Evansville in the third game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

Scouting the Catamounts
Vermont continues the Gulf Coast Showcase with a 3-2 overall record, falling to Oakland 63-61 in the opening round. The Catamounts defeated UNI (71-57), WPI (81-48) and Yale (61-53) after dropping the second game of the season to Maryland (68-57).

The Catamounts have three players averaging double figures in scoring as Ryan Davis leads the way with 19.5 points per game on 48.4 percent shooting from the floor (31-of-64) and team-best seven blocked shots. Ben Shungu follows with 13.8 points on 43.1 percent shooting from the field (22-of-51) with a team-best nine made 3-point FG (.375, 9-of-24) – Finn Sullivan has also made nine trifectas (.429, 9-of-21). Rounding out the double-digit scorers are Isaiah Powell with 12 points per game and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game (32 rebs).

Defensively, the Catamounts limit its opponents to 57.8 points per game on 37.3 percent shooting from the floor and 25.4 percent from 3-point range, allowing 6.0 long distance strikes per night. Vermont caused 59 turnovers (11.8 to/g) with 26 steals (5.2 stl/g). the Catamounts outrebound the opponent by a +2.4 margin as the opponents' snagged 176 (35.2 reb/g) total boards compared to the 188 (37.6 reb/g) total rebounds secured.

The Akron-Evansville Series
The Zips and the Aces have met four times in series history as Evansville owns a 4-0 record against the Akron. The two teams have not played in almost four decades as the last meeting was during the 1982-83 season, the Aces won 76-68 at Evansville. In Akron's first Division I season, Evansville defeated the Zips 71-51 at Evansville. The series began during the 1957-58 season in the DII NCAA Mideast Tournament hosted by Evansville, the Aces won 82-70. The two teams also met for the 1963-64 DII NCAA Championship at Evansville as the Aces won the DII title, 72-59.

Scouting the Aces
Evansville continues the Gulf Coast Showcase with a 2-4 overall mark after falling to Rice in three overtime periods, 109-104. The Aces defeated IUPUI (60-40) and DePauw (69-58) and fell to Cincinnati (65-43), Belmont (81-43) and UCF (75-59).

The Aces have three players averaging double figures in scoring as Jawaun Newton leads the way with 13.7 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting from the floor (31-of-68) and team-best 31 rebounds. Shamar Givance follows with 12.8 points per game and a team-high 25 assists, while Evan Kuhlman has buried a team-best 13 long-distance buckets (.371, 13-of-35) en route to scoring 10.7 points per game. Noah Frederking has also posted double-dight 3-point FG made with 10 on 20 attempts for a 50-percent shooting effort and averages 9.0 points per game.

Defensively, Evansville limits its opponents to 71.3 points per game on 48.0 percent shooting from the floor and 36.7 percent from 3-point range, allowing 7.8 long distance strikes per night. The Aces caused 71 turnovers (11.8 to/g) with 33 steals (5.5stl/g). Evansville is outrebounded the opponent by a -3.5 margin as the opponents' snagged 199 (33.2 reb/g) total boards compared to the 178 (29.7 reb/g) total rebounds secured.

UP NEXT
Akron will wrap-up Gulf Coast Showcase tournament action in Estero, Fla., playing in one of two game slots to wrap-up tournament play on Wednesday, Nov. 24 - the seventh place game at 11 a.m. or the fifth place game at 1:30 p.m. against Evansville or Vermont.

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Gulf Coast Showcase: Akron Plays App State in Second Round Action

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