Saturday, March 13
Cleveland, OH / Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
7:30 PM
16-8,12-5MAC
69
vs
84
(5) Ohio
16-7,9-5MAC
1
2
F
Ohio
41
43
84
Buffalo
21
48
69
Bulls Fall to Ohio in MAC Championship Game
3/13/2021 10:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND, OH – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team came up short in its bid to win its third straight Mid-American Conference Championship as it fell to Ohio, 84-69, in the title game at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Saturday night.
The Bulls struggled to get anything going early and Ohio took advantage. The Bobcats' stifling defense held UB, the top scoring team in the MAC, to just 21 first-half points. Conversely, Ohio scored 41 first-half points, while shooting over 50 percent from the field. The Bobcats led by 20 at the half.
The Bulls tried to rally in the second half and a Ronaldo Segu three-pointer from the top of the key cut the Ohio lead to 52-42 with 10:28 left. However, Ohio responded with a 9-0 scoring run to regain a 19-point edge.
The Bulls were led by Segu who scored a game-high 24 points. Josh Mballa recorded his third straight double-double of the tournament with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Jayvon Graves had 13 points, eight rebounds a pair of blocks.
"I couldn't be prouder of my guys," head coach Jim Whitesell said. "Give Ohio credit. They were just sharper than us tonight. They made shots when they needed to. I'm really proud of my guys. They played with a lot of heart. We just didn't play a sharp first half."
Mballa and Jeenathan Williams were named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Bulls struggled to get anything going early and Ohio took advantage. The Bobcats' stifling defense held UB, the top scoring team in the MAC, to just 21 first-half points. Conversely, Ohio scored 41 first-half points, while shooting over 50 percent from the field. The Bobcats led by 20 at the half.
The Bulls tried to rally in the second half and a Ronaldo Segu three-pointer from the top of the key cut the Ohio lead to 52-42 with 10:28 left. However, Ohio responded with a 9-0 scoring run to regain a 19-point edge.
The Bulls were led by Segu who scored a game-high 24 points. Josh Mballa recorded his third straight double-double of the tournament with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Jayvon Graves had 13 points, eight rebounds a pair of blocks.
"I couldn't be prouder of my guys," head coach Jim Whitesell said. "Give Ohio credit. They were just sharper than us tonight. They made shots when they needed to. I'm really proud of my guys. They played with a lot of heart. We just didn't play a sharp first half."
Mballa and Jeenathan Williams were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Team Stats
Ohio
UB
FG%
.500
.344
3FG%
.533
.263
FT%
.783
.741
RB
36
40
TO
12
14
STL
9
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
Guard
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