Akron Falls to Purdue Fort Wayne on the Road, 68-65

Wednesday, December 5

Fort Wayne, IN

7:00 pm

University of Akron

6-3

Purdue Fort Wayne

6-5

Akron

Purdue Fort Wayne

Akron Falls to Purdue Fort Wayne on the Road, 68-65

December 05 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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Fort Wayne, Ind. – The Akron men's basketball team dug out of a 15-point first-half deficit, but fell three points short in their first true road game of the season against Purdue Fort Wayne, 68-65, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum on Wednesday night.

Junior Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) led Akron (6-3) in scoring and on the glass with 23 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) and senior Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) added double-digit points with 12 and 10, respectively.

Purdue Fort Wayne (6-5) was led by Kanson Harrell with a game-high 24 points as the Mastodons took control of the game from the opening tap. The 'Dons created separation on the scoreboard with an 8-0 run that resulted in a 14-3 advantage by the 13:26 mark. The continued to distance themselves from the Zips after a pair of 3-pointers and a layup made it 22-7.

The Zips narrowed the margin to nine points, three times over the next four minutes, but Purdue Fort Wayne continued to answer and rallied for their largest lead of the game at 18 points with 50 seconds left in the half. On the final possession of the first frame, junior Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) buried a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 40-25.

Harrell collected 11 first-half points to lead all scorers as the Mastodons shot 57.1 percent from the floor (16-of-28) and 36.4 from long distance (4-of-11). The 'Dons turned the ball over nine times compared to Akron's seven, but held the advantage on the glass 50-15. Akron posted a 30.3 shooting percentage (10-of-33) and was limited to 4-of-14 (.286) from deep.

In the second half, Akron fell behind by as many as 19 points, 53-34, before they made their move. Akron held the Mastodons scoreless for the next five minutes while scoring 16-straight points, fueled by five consecutive points from junior Jeremy Roscoe (Chicago, Ill.). Roscoe started the 16-0 run with a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer from the wing, while Jackson, Ivey and Banks all added trifectas. Utomi followed with a pair of bonus buckets, cutting the deficit to 53-50 with 8:17 left on the clock.

Purdue Fort Wayne, finally, cashed in with two charity points and pushed the lead back to eight points, 58-50, with three points by Harrell. Again, Akron battled back, tying the game 61-all on a Utomi 3-pointer from the NBA stripe and Jackson gave the Zips their first lead of the game, 63-62, finishing in the paint and off the glass.

The Mastodons immediately responded, regaining control of the scoreboard, 64-63, but a missed shot attempt by the Zips forced them to foul. Harrell buried both free throws and Jackson added two for Akron.

With 20-seconds remaining on the clock, Akron had the ball, but missed the go ahead opportunity in the paint. The Zips had another possession to takeover the scoreboard, but a turnover proved to be costly as Akron was forced to hoist a long-distance 3-ball to tie the game.

Akron finished the contest shooting 21-of-64 (.328) from the floor and 17-of-37 (.324) from 3-point land. The Zips only turned the ball over four times in the second stanza and ended the night with 35 rebounds.

On the other side of the court, the home team shot 23-of-49 (.469) from the floor with a 7-of-18 (.389) effort from deep while grabbing 38 rebounds and committing 20 turnovers for the game.

Akron is scheduled to be back in action at James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday, Dec. 15 against Marshall at 2 p.m.