Johnson puts up 19 as Akron defeats Evansville 97-59 at Paradise Jam

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SAINT THOMAS, Virgin Islands (AP) — Tavari Johnson and Bowen Hardman scored 19 points apiece to help Akron defeat Evansville 97-59 on Sunday at the Paradise Jam.

Johnson shot 6 of 15 from the field, including 2 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 5 from the free-throw line for the Zips (5-1). Bowen Hardman finished 5 of 6 from 3-point range and 4 for 5 from the foul line. Amani Lyles shot 6 for 10 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 4 of 7 from the free-throw line to finish with 17 points.

The Purple Aces (3-4) were led by AJ Casey, who recorded 13 points and eight rebounds. Keishon Porter and Bryce Quinet also had 13 points apiece.

Akron took the lead about 8 1/2 minutes into the game and did not trail again. Hardman led the Zips with 16 points in the first half to help put them up 44-36 at the break. Akron outscored Evansville by 30 points in the second half, and Lyles scored a team-high 16 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.