Ivey helps Akron hold off Ohio 71-68

AKRON, Ohio -- Jimond Ivey scored 11 of his 17 points in the final six minutes and Akron held off Ohio 71-68 on Tuesday night.

Ivey added six rebounds and four assists on an emotional night for the Zips, who ditched the traditional white home jerseys and wore purple in honor of pancreatic cancer awareness. The players all sported Peters on the backs of their jerseys in honor of Dan Peters, the Zips' director of basketball operations who succumbed to the disease in 2014.

Malcolm Duvivier hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 for Akron (10-9, 3-4 Mid-American Conference), while Daniel Utomi contributed 13 points and eight rebounds and Mark Kostelac scored 10 on 5-of-6 shooting.

Gavin Block scored 18 -- on 6-of-11 shooting from 3-point range -- with seven rebounds to pace the Bobcats (9-10, 2-5). Teyvion Kirk added 16 points and six assists and Doug Taylor scored 11 with six boards and four blocked shots.

Ohio never led but managed to forge four ties, the last one at 58-all with 5:35 left in the game. But Kostelac had a layup and Ivey nailed a 3-pointer and added two buckets to push the Zips lead to 67-58. The Bobcats closed to within a point, but Ivey and Virshon Cotton both hit two free throws in the final 20 seconds to preserve the win.