By EVAN MEYER
AKRON, OHIO – Sophomore Emmanuel Olajopoke scored a career high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocked shots as the Akron Zips defeated Fort Wayne 87-79 Wednesday evening at Rhodes Arena.
Akron (4-2) built a double-digit lead early in . . .
AKRON, OHIO – Sophomore Emmanuel Olajopoke scored a career high 24 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocked shots as the Akron Zips defeated Fort Wayne 87-79 Wednesday evening at Rhodes Arena.
Akron (4-2) built a double-digit lead early in . . .
. . . the second half, then held on to edge the Mastadons and remain perfect on the home hardwood (3-0). Fort Wayne (6-4) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
“It was a great win tonight.” Zips head coach John Groce said “It wasn’t a masterpiece, but I was happy that we got things when we needed to get it done. A sign of maturity.”
UA had five players in double figures. Jimond Ivey had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, sophomore Daniel Utomi, while Eric Parrish scored 11. Utomi added four steals and Parrish handed out three assists. Freshman Virshon Cotton tallied 10 points.
“The story of the game was their offensive rebounds and our turnovers did us in tonight,” Fort Wayne head man Jon Coffman said. “We were out-toughed by a tough team tonight.” Akron had 15 offensive rebounds, while the Mastadons registered 20 turnovers, which resulted in 24 Zips points
The visitors from the Summit League were led by John Konchar. He had 23 points, going 9-of-13 from the field, including a perfect 4 for 4 from 3- point range. The freshman also chipped in seven rebounds and four assists.
Junior Kason Harrell added 23 with seven rebounds and four assists. Senior Bryson Scott had 18 with four boards and two steals.
UA used a 10-3 run to take a lead it would not relinquish midway through the first half. It finished the period outscoring the Mastadons 16-8 to hold a 46-36 advantage at intermission.
Although Akron had established a cushion, the visitors from Northeast Indiana just would not go away.
Fort Wayne used a 7-0 run at the start of the second period to close to within five at 48-43, but the Zips pushed the lead back out to 11 (59-48) on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Parrish with 15:24 remaining.
From that point on, the ‘Dons just chipped away, closing the deficit until they were within two (81-79) after a three from the right arc by Harrell with 28.4 seconds remaining.
It would be as close as they would get.
Akron hit 50.8 percent from the field and held a decisive 40-28 edge in the rebounds. However, it went 11-of-27 from the free throw line and just five-of-17 in the second half.
When asked about their free throw problems as well as the 18 turnovers, Groce said, “Would that come and bite us in the butt later on? Absolutely. We have to clean that up.”
Wednesday game was the first of three straight home tilts for the Zips. They get back to action on Saturday afternoon against the Mountaineers of Appalachian State from the Sunbelt Conference.
“It was a great win tonight.” Zips head coach John Groce said “It wasn’t a masterpiece, but I was happy that we got things when we needed to get it done. A sign of maturity.”
UA had five players in double figures. Jimond Ivey had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists, sophomore Daniel Utomi, while Eric Parrish scored 11. Utomi added four steals and Parrish handed out three assists. Freshman Virshon Cotton tallied 10 points.
“The story of the game was their offensive rebounds and our turnovers did us in tonight,” Fort Wayne head man Jon Coffman said. “We were out-toughed by a tough team tonight.” Akron had 15 offensive rebounds, while the Mastadons registered 20 turnovers, which resulted in 24 Zips points
The visitors from the Summit League were led by John Konchar. He had 23 points, going 9-of-13 from the field, including a perfect 4 for 4 from 3- point range. The freshman also chipped in seven rebounds and four assists.
Junior Kason Harrell added 23 with seven rebounds and four assists. Senior Bryson Scott had 18 with four boards and two steals.
UA used a 10-3 run to take a lead it would not relinquish midway through the first half. It finished the period outscoring the Mastadons 16-8 to hold a 46-36 advantage at intermission.
Although Akron had established a cushion, the visitors from Northeast Indiana just would not go away.
Fort Wayne used a 7-0 run at the start of the second period to close to within five at 48-43, but the Zips pushed the lead back out to 11 (59-48) on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Parrish with 15:24 remaining.
From that point on, the ‘Dons just chipped away, closing the deficit until they were within two (81-79) after a three from the right arc by Harrell with 28.4 seconds remaining.
It would be as close as they would get.
Akron hit 50.8 percent from the field and held a decisive 40-28 edge in the rebounds. However, it went 11-of-27 from the free throw line and just five-of-17 in the second half.
When asked about their free throw problems as well as the 18 turnovers, Groce said, “Would that come and bite us in the butt later on? Absolutely. We have to clean that up.”
Wednesday game was the first of three straight home tilts for the Zips. They get back to action on Saturday afternoon against the Mountaineers of Appalachian State from the Sunbelt Conference.
RSS Feed