AKRON, Ohio (AP) — Tavari Johnson’s 16 points helped Akron defeat Kent State 69-52 on Friday.

Johnson also added nine rebounds for the Zips (18-4, 9-1 Mid-American Conference). Bowen Hardman shot 5 for 9 from beyond the arc to add 15 points.

It was the eighth straight win for the Zips.

The Golden Flashes (16-6, 7-3) were led in scoring by Delrecco Gillespie, who finished with 17 points and six rebounds. Kent State also got 10 points and seven rebounds from Morgan Safford. Rayvon Griffith grabbed 17 rebounds.

Akron took the lead with 16:59 remaining in the first half and did not trail again. Johnson led his team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them up 38-29 at the break. Akron pulled away with a 12-0 run in the second half for a 17-point lead. Evan Mahaffey led the way with a team-high seven second-half points.

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