Friday, March 12
Cleveland, OH / Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
7:30 pm
16-7,12-5MAC
81
vs
74
Akron
15-8,12-6MAC
1
2
OT 1
F
Akron
28
40
6
74
Buffalo
33
35
13
81
Bulls Advance to Championship Game Following OT Thriller over Akron
3/12/2021 11:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND, OH – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team needed overtime, but was able to get past third-seeded Akron, 81-74, in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday night. The Bulls will face Ohio in the MAC title game tomorrow night.
Jeenathan Williams scored seven of his team-high 26 points in the overtime session to help the Bulls pull away. The junior forward hit a three-pointer from the elbow to cap a 7-0 scoring run to start overtime and UB never looked back.
After the Bulls led by as many as 10 points in the first half, Akron rallied and took a six-point lead with 12:54 left in the second half. Akron continued to lead, 58-54, with 5:51 left. Williams drained a much-needed three-pointer on UB's next possession and then, following an Akron miss, a putback by Josh Mballa would finally give the lead back to the Bulls. From there, the two teams rode the see-saw.
With UB trailing by one and 1:42 left, Ronaldo Segu drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, his third of the game, to give the Bulls a 66-64 lead. On Akron's ensuing possession, Williams came up with a steal, drove the length of the floor and laid it in to extend the UB lead to 68-64 with 1:02 left. However, the Zips rallied and got a tip in with just over one second remaining to tie the game and force overtime.
The Bulls outscored Akron, 13-6, in overtime to earn their fifth trip to the MAC title game in the last six years.
"These games are 15 rounds. Every team wants to win and keep playing," head coach Jim Whitesell said. "I'm really proud of our guys. I thought in overtime we played really well and got some big stops. Any time you play Akron, it's going to be a battle royale and we knew that coming in."
Mballa was a monster again for the Bulls as the junior forward scored 16 points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds. Segu finished with 18 points, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Jayvon Graves had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Bulls play in the paint was the difference in the game. UB outrebounded Akron, 50-40, including 18 offensive rebounds and made it difficult for Akron scorers, especially in overtime.
Buffalo will play Ohio in the MAC Championship game at 7:30 pm on Saturday night.
Jeenathan Williams scored seven of his team-high 26 points in the overtime session to help the Bulls pull away. The junior forward hit a three-pointer from the elbow to cap a 7-0 scoring run to start overtime and UB never looked back.
After the Bulls led by as many as 10 points in the first half, Akron rallied and took a six-point lead with 12:54 left in the second half. Akron continued to lead, 58-54, with 5:51 left. Williams drained a much-needed three-pointer on UB's next possession and then, following an Akron miss, a putback by Josh Mballa would finally give the lead back to the Bulls. From there, the two teams rode the see-saw.
With UB trailing by one and 1:42 left, Ronaldo Segu drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, his third of the game, to give the Bulls a 66-64 lead. On Akron's ensuing possession, Williams came up with a steal, drove the length of the floor and laid it in to extend the UB lead to 68-64 with 1:02 left. However, the Zips rallied and got a tip in with just over one second remaining to tie the game and force overtime.
The Bulls outscored Akron, 13-6, in overtime to earn their fifth trip to the MAC title game in the last six years.
"These games are 15 rounds. Every team wants to win and keep playing," head coach Jim Whitesell said. "I'm really proud of our guys. I thought in overtime we played really well and got some big stops. Any time you play Akron, it's going to be a battle royale and we knew that coming in."
Mballa was a monster again for the Bulls as the junior forward scored 16 points and pulled down a game-high 20 rebounds. Segu finished with 18 points, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Jayvon Graves had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
The Bulls play in the paint was the difference in the game. UB outrebounded Akron, 50-40, including 18 offensive rebounds and made it difficult for Akron scorers, especially in overtime.
Buffalo will play Ohio in the MAC Championship game at 7:30 pm on Saturday night.
Team Stats
UA
UB
FG%
.390
.471
3FG%
.231
.438
FT%
.889
.421
RB
40
50
TO
10
14
STL
2
9
Game Leaders
Pts
26
FGM
10
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Guard
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