regional roundup Sunday’s games

Akron 77, Valparaiso 57

AKRON — Jimmy Conyers scored a career-high 22 points, the most by an Akron player this season, as the Zips cruised. Akron (9-3) has won five straight and nine of its last 10 games. Conyers, a senior averaging 9.2 points as a starter in the previous six games while shooting 51.5 percent (17-for-33), was 10-for-13 from the field against the Crusaders (5-8). Conyers scored 15 in the first half on 7-for-8 shooting, helping Akron to a 36-23 halftime lead. Valparaiso opened the second half with four straight points, then the Zips pulled away with a 14-0 run to lead 50-27 with 15:19 left. Akron shot 55.4 percent from the field (31-for-56), outrebounded the Crusaders 33-22 and had 18 assists to Valparaiso’s five. Brett McKnight added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Zips. Brandon Wood scored 18 points to lead the Crusaders.

Wisconsin 79, Illinois-Chicago 43

MADISON, Wis. — Jon Leuer scored 13 of his game-high 17 points in the first half for Wisconsin. Leuer, who has averaged 15.8 points over the past five games, was 6 of 8 from the field against the Flames (3-8) and also had a career-high five assists and seven rebounds. The Badgers (10-2) got off to a sluggish start but closed the first half with a 21-9 run for a 35-19 lead. Leuer and Jason Bohannon combined for 15 points during that stretch. Wisconsin also hit 7 of 11 3-pointers in the first half. Robo Kreps led Illinois-Chicago with 13 points, including a 40-foot 3-pointer that swished in at the first-half buzzer.

Associated Press