AKRON, Ohio — Amani Lyles scored a career high 22 points and Akron men’s basketball defeated James Madison, 85-71, in its home opener Monday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron scored 14 points from turnovers in the first half but trailed 39-30 by halftime.

The Zips trailed 52-44 with 13:52 left, but began chipping away at the lead, and pulled even at 54 on a Tavari Johnson free throw with 11:06 to play. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shammah Scott gave the Zips the lead for good at 65-61 with seven minutes to play.

A 5-0 run gave the Zips some cushion with a 71-64 lead in the final five minutes, and they stayed out of reach from there.

“We’re not a retreat organization, we’re an attack organization,” said Akron head coach John Groce, whose team outscored James Madison 55-32 in the secon

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