Looking for a much-needed Mid-American Conference victory, the men's basketball team traveled to Akron Saturday night for a match-up against the Zips. When it was all said and done though, they were unsuccessful in achieving that goal.
The Bulls were unable to comeback in the second half and fell to the Zips, 76-56, at Rhodes Arena. The loss kept the Bulls (9-18, 2-12 MAC) in last place in the MAC, while the Zips (20-8, 10-4 MAC) increased their lead for third place in the conference.
Akron dominated the Bulls defense the entire game, using three-point shots to their advantage. The Zips made 13 of their 20 field goals from beyond the arc in the game, opposed to Buffalo's pitiful 2-14 three-point display. The Zips went a sweltering seven-for-10 from three-point range in the second half.
"They shot the three well in some cases, and in other cases they didn't," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We could have done a better job and keeping them from taking advantage of those chances. We just didn't close out on their shooters well enough."
Even though the Zips dominated from behind the three-point line, Buffalo took advantage in the paint. The Bulls used their height and size to outscore the Zips, 36-12, down low. Freshman forward Jawaan Alson had a great game in the post, scoring a career-high 11 points, while grabbing six rebounds and blocking two shots.
Despite the success around the net, the Bulls only shot 39.3 percent from the floor, compared to Akron's 42.6 percent. Buffalo went ice cold in the second half, shooting 33.3 percent. This spelt doom for the Bulls, as they were unable to hit crucial shots during their attempted comeback.
Akron thrived at the free throw line, especially in the second half. The Zips shot 29 free throws compared to the Bulls' 13. Akron made 21 of those 29 attempts, including 14 of 16 in the second half. The Bulls finished 10 of 13 from the charity stripe.
Akron took a four-point lead at halftime and stretched it to 13 points with 11:42 left in the game. Buffalo fought back and during the next four minutes and managed to cut the Zips' lead to five. Junior forward Greg Gamble scored 10 of his team-high 19 points during the flurry and the Bulls trailed 54-49 with 7:59 remaining in the half.
Cederick Middleton stopped the Bulls' run with back-to-back three-pointers as Akron quickly regained an 11-point advantage and silenced the Buffalo threat.
"We missed a few, and they hit some timely threes," Witherspoon said. "We were unable to answer them."
John Boyer played some solid minutes off the bench for the Bulls and proved to be a catalyst in the Bulls' comeback attempt. In only his 15th game of the season, the sophomore guard passed out five assists in only 14 minutes of playing time.
Defensively, the Bulls tallied eight steals, led by sophomore guard Sean Smiley's career-best three, and forced 20 Akron turnovers. The Zips returned the favor, forcing the Bulls into 21 turnovers.
"We have not been turning the ball over lately and they hadn't been either," Witherspoon said. "We were going to go out there and force them to cough the ball up with a lot of pressure."
Sophomore forward Max Boudreau was the third Bulls to score in double figures, netting 10 points.
Middleton led Akron, scoring 20 points, including six three-pointers. Nick Dials also added 17 points for the Zips. Jeremiah Wood chipped in 10 points and nine rebounds.
Buffalo will return home for its final home game of the season on Tuesday night when it hosts Bowling Green (12-4, 6-7 MAC) at Alumni Arena. The Bulls will honor their lone senior, forward Andrew Atman, prior to game time. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
