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Akron men's basketball looks to build on Paradise Jam runner-up finish
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- Akron men's basketball looks to build on Paradise Jam runner-up finish
The high-scoring University of Akron men's basketball team returns to Rhodes Arena to meet Milwaukee at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29.
Akron (5-2) won two of three games in the Paradise Jam in Saint Thomas, United States Virgin Islands. Akron defeated Iona 96-75 on Nov. 21 and Evansville 97-59 on Nov. 23, before losing to Yale 97-94 on Nov. 24 in Paradise Jam championship game.
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"I thought the first two games, we played really well," Akron ninth-year coach John Groce said . "We played both well at both ends, for the most part. Had good energy. I thought we were pretty physical, played with some focus and got off to great starts. That was really important in both games.
"[Monday] night, we did not do that. We weren't as focused as we needed to be. I didn't like our execution in the first four or five minutes. That kind of put us in a little bit of a hole. We got back into the game and then did it again at another point in the first half. I thought were inconsistent with our execution, and part of it is they are really good. [Nick] Townsend [of Yale] puts you in a lot of dilemmas because he can play inside and out. ... He is a really good player."
Akron lost to Yale despite career-high scoring performances from senior guards Tavari Johnson and Shammah Scott. Johnson had 35 points and eight assists. Scott had 25 points.
"I thought our defense lacked focus, attention, detail and execution," Groce said. "When you are going against a really good offense like they have with really good personnel, you can't afford to do that."
Akron Zips guard Tavari Johnson drives past Purdue guard Braden Smith in the first half, Nov. 16, 2025.
Akron defeated Iona with five players scoring in double figures, led by Eric Mahaffey's career-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Johnson added 19 points, Evan Mahaffey contributed 16 points and five rebounds, Scott had 14 points, six rebounds and five assists and Bowen Hardman scored 10 points.
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Akron Zips guard Shammah Scott dribbles down court in the first half at Purdue, Nov. 16, 2025.
Akron rolled Evansville with four players scoring in double figures. Johnson had 19 points and four assists, Hardman scored 19 points, Amani Lyles totaled 17 points and five assists and Evan Mahaffey finished with 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
"Eric had a career-high in the first game and I thought Evan did a lot of good things," Groce said. "Amani was pretty consistent. Tavari and Shammah had big scoring games, respectively, [Monday] night. I thought Tavari played really well throughout the course of the event. Hardman made 3s. He shot the ball like we are used to seeing him shoot it."
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Hardman made 5 of 6 3-pointers against Evansville and 3 of 5 against Yale. Scott made 3 of 6 3s against Iona and 5 of 6 against Yale.
Akron scored 90 or more points in three consecutive games for the time since last season when the Zips did so in wins on Jan. 17, 21 and 25 over Ohio, Buffalo and Miami, respectively.
Groce has a 56-4 at Akron when the Zips score 85 or more points. The Zips were 19-0 in those games last season.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron Zips men's basketball team returns home to host Milwaukee
