HONOLULU, Hawaii – The Akron Zips opened the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic with a strong performance and four-point lead at halftime, but USC used a 26-2 second-half run to secure an 84-53 win on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.
The Zips controlled the . . .
The Zips controlled the . . .
. . . scoreboard for the initial 22:33 of Saturday's game, starting just after the opening tap. Sophomore Daniel Utomi recorded the first points on a turnaround jumper on the baseline and tallied five of the Zips' first eight points en route to an 11-point showing. By the first media timeout, the Zips established a seven-point lead, 14-7, as Utomi buried a 3-ball.
Akron won the following four-minute segment, as freshman Jaden Sayles lifted Akron to its largest lead of the night, 16-7, with the first of three dunks.
Sayles led Akron's scoring efforts with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. He added a 2-of-2 performance from the charity stripe with three rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot.
The Trojans cut the deficit to five points, 16-11 at the 11-minute mark, and Akron answered with a triple from freshman Virshon Cotton. The Zips fought to keep the lead between 5-7 points when USC finally cut the lead to three with 2:01 remaining in the half.
Sayles and Cotton buried four consecutive free throws, two each, to push the lead back to seven points, 31-24. A third dunk by Sayles kept the lead at six points, but with time expiring in the period, USC buried a midrange jumper. Akron led 33-29 at halftime.
For the first 2:33 of the second half, Akron kept the lead as the two teams battled back-and-forth, trading buckets.
With 16:44 remaining, USC tied the game for the first time since its initial bucket of the game. On the ensuing possession, Southern Cal took its first lead and never looked back. The Trojans’ 26-2 run over the next six minutes, extended the lead to 20 points, 60-40 with 10:12 left in the game.
Akron managed just 20 points in the second, with Zips' freshman Eric Parrish providing 11 of them.
Elijah Stewart led the Trojans with 20 points, including a 3-of-7 showing from downtown. Chimezie Metu and Jonah Mathews followed with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
USC outscored Akron 55-20 in the second half.
The Zips will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 23 against Princeton at 6:30 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of UA Athletics)
Akron won the following four-minute segment, as freshman Jaden Sayles lifted Akron to its largest lead of the night, 16-7, with the first of three dunks.
Sayles led Akron's scoring efforts with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. He added a 2-of-2 performance from the charity stripe with three rebounds, a steal, and a blocked shot.
The Trojans cut the deficit to five points, 16-11 at the 11-minute mark, and Akron answered with a triple from freshman Virshon Cotton. The Zips fought to keep the lead between 5-7 points when USC finally cut the lead to three with 2:01 remaining in the half.
Sayles and Cotton buried four consecutive free throws, two each, to push the lead back to seven points, 31-24. A third dunk by Sayles kept the lead at six points, but with time expiring in the period, USC buried a midrange jumper. Akron led 33-29 at halftime.
For the first 2:33 of the second half, Akron kept the lead as the two teams battled back-and-forth, trading buckets.
With 16:44 remaining, USC tied the game for the first time since its initial bucket of the game. On the ensuing possession, Southern Cal took its first lead and never looked back. The Trojans’ 26-2 run over the next six minutes, extended the lead to 20 points, 60-40 with 10:12 left in the game.
Akron managed just 20 points in the second, with Zips' freshman Eric Parrish providing 11 of them.
Elijah Stewart led the Trojans with 20 points, including a 3-of-7 showing from downtown. Chimezie Metu and Jonah Mathews followed with 16 and 13 points, respectively.
USC outscored Akron 55-20 in the second half.
The Zips will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 23 against Princeton at 6:30 p.m. ET.
(Courtesy of UA Athletics)
RSS Feed