AKRON, Ohio – Akron made 15 three-pointers as the Zips topped the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team 82-67 on Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Arena. Akron shot 52.7 percent (29-of-55) in the contest, including 48.4 percent (15-of-31) from three-point range.

Junior Dante Thorpe (Washington, D.C./Triton College) and sophomore Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) each scored 16 points, freshman Gairges Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Prep) added a career-high 14 points.

A floater from Thorpe and a turnaround jumper from Daow gave NIU an 11-8 lead in the early going. Akron answered with a 17-2 run as the Zips took a 25-13 lead with eight minutes to play in the first half. 

The Akron lead grew to as much as 17 before the Huskies went on a 7-0 burst to pull back within 10. German made a free throw to start the run, junior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) added a trio from the charity stripe and Thorpe knocked down a wing three to cut the Akron lead to 38-28. 

Bradley finished with seven points. 

Akron (9-9, 2-4 MAC) still led by 10 until the Zips knocked down another triple, their ninth of the half, to take a 43-30 lead into the intermission. Akron shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field in the first half, including 9-of-17 from three-point range. 

NIU (9-10, 2-4 MAC) used an 11-5 burst out of the intermission to trim the Akron lead to seven, 48-41, early in the second half. Daow opened the half with a triple, Akron scored the next five, but NIU answered with eight-straight, a pair each from Bradley and junior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) and four from German. 

James scored seven points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds in the contest. 

Akron responded with the next eight as the lead ballooned back to 15 until a corner trifecta from Daow stopped the Akron run with 14:11 to play. The Zips came right back with the next 11 as they took a 67-44 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining and never looked back.

Malcolm Duvivier and Virshon Cotton each scored 17 points to lead the way for the Zips; Duvivier went 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line while Cotton was 5-of-10 from deep. Daniel Utomi added 16 points, including 4-of-6 from three, and Jimond Ivey scored 15 points with a game-high 10 rebounds. 

NIU will return home on Tuesday night, Jan. 23, as the Huskies host Bowling Green at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office in the Convocation Center, by calling 815-753-PACK (7225) or online at NIUHuskies.com. Reserved lower bowl seats are just $10 while general admission is available for $8.