7-7, 0-1MAC
Akron
12-2, 1-0MAC
Bulls Drop Nail-Biter In MAC Opener To Akron, 75-71
1/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The visiting Akron Zips broke a 68-68 tie with a minute and a half left on Tuesday night, defeating the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York men's basketball team, 75-71, in the Mid-American Conference Opener for both teams. The victory was the ninth straight for Akron and it was the Zips' first win at Alumni Arena since the 2008-09 season. With the loss, UB evens its record to 7-7.
The game was competitive through out with neither team ever leading by more than eight points. UB got off to a quick start in the affair as the Bulls opened the game on an 8-3 run. However, with the Bulls leading 10-8 in the contest, Akron went on a 9-0 run to take a 17-10 advantage. A jumper by Jimond Ivey with 10:15 left gave Akron its largest lead of the game at 19-11. From there, the Bulls responded with a 15-3 run of their own as a pair of free throws from Willie Conner gave UB a 26-22 lead with 3:33 left. UB led by five with 1:06 left in the first half, but the Zips scored the final five points, sending the teams into the break tied at 35-35.
In the second half a jumper from senior Rodell Wigginton gave the Bulls a 51-46 lead with 12:10 remaining and UB continued to lead by five, 62-57 with 6:24 left. The Zips scored the next five points as a Jake Kretzer three pointer tied the game up with 5:04 left. The ninth tie in the contest came with 1:42 remaining and the teams tied at 68-68 when Akron scored four straight points to take a 72-68 lead with just 34 seconds left. The Bulls came down and got a three pointer from Conner to pull within one with 15 seconds left, but after two Akron free throws, UB was unable to hit the tying three pointer and the Zips hit one final free throw for the final score.
"They shot 32% from three and we missed a couple of assignments and gave them some open looks," said head coach Nate Oats. "We know they shoot nearly half of their shots from three and tonight it was over half of their shots. We tried to take away their game inside and thought our post players did a pretty decent job with that."
Conner led the Bulls with 16 points and seven rebounds, while fellow junior Blake Hamilton added 15 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Sophomore Lamonte Bearden had 12 points and six rebounds.
Redshirt freshman Ikenna Smart had one of his best games of the season as he finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Senior Jarryn Skeete added seven. Wigginton finished with six points and six rebounds off the bench.
Akron went 12-of-37 from three point range in the game and was led by Antonio Jackson, who had 16 points and seven assists. Isaiah Johnson added 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulls will hit the road for their next two games, beginning on Friday night at Kent State. Tipoff is at 6:30 pm and the game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.
