Thursday, March 12
Cleveland, Ohio / Rocket Arena
Approximately 4 p.m.
University at Buffalo
17-15,7-11MAC
70
vs
73
(2) Akron
27-5,17-1MAC
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Buffalo
29
41
70
Akron
42
31
73
Photo by: Dani Fey | UB Athletics
Bulls' Comeback Falls Short in 73-70 Heartbreaker
3/12/2026 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND, Ohio – It was everything you could ever want in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, a chance to advance. The University at Buffalo men's basketball program (17-15, 7-11 MAC) trailed by as many as 16 in the second half to the 2-seed Akron Zips (27-5, 17-1 MAC) but fought their way back in the final minutes. With just 1.1 seconds on the clock, a final corner three from Ryan Sabol hit rim, but didn't fall as the Zips escaped with a 73-70 win.
Sabol led the way for the 14th time this season as he scored 24 points. In his effort, he drained six threes on the evening. Following in performance, Sabol passed the 600-point mark on the season. He joins Javon McCrea and CJ Massinburg as the only Bulls to reach this mark. He totaled 603 points on the season with 122 threes, a single season program record.
Angelo Brizzi finished with 17 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Tim Oboh secured his second career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. In his final collegiate game, Noah Batchelor scored nine points as he went 3-for-5 from three.
Struggles from the free throw line were costly as the Bulls finished 10-of-20 (50.0%). Akron went 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the charity stripe.
Buffalo took the early lead at 14-9 and held the lead as they pushed it to 20-16 with 9:57 to go in the first half. The momentum shifted as the Zips went on an 11-0 run gave them a 27-20 lead with 7:05 remaining. In that stretch, Akron was 5-of-6 from the field. The Zips pulled away from the Bulls to close the half as they headed to the locker room trailing, 42-29.
In the first five minutes of the second half, Akron ballooned their lead to 52-36, their largest lead of the night. The Bulls' grit mentality came through despite Akron leading by double digits. The Bulls charged in the final five minutes. A Sabol driving layup made it a 67-58 lead with 4:56 to go. Akron quickly brought their lead back to 13 points, leading 71-58 with 4:14 remaining in regulation.
Buffalo's defense to offense transition caught fire in the closing minutes. Sabol drained a three to make it a 10-point game. Brizzi cut it to single digits after a made free throw, soon after Sabol would hit another three to make it 71-65. After two missed shots by the Zips, Batchelor drilled yet another three to force an Akron timeout trailing 71-68 with 1:57 to go. In the ensuing possession, Oboh made a layup to cut Akron's lead to 71-70 with 1:19 left as the Bulls went on a 12-0 run. Following another defensive stop, Brizzi pulled the trigger with a wide open three which rimmed out. A pair of free throws by Akron pushed their lead to 73-70 with 30 seconds remaining. In their final possession, Ezra McKenna had an open look in the corner to tie the game, but didn't go. Buffalo retained possession on the dead ball offensive rebound with 1.1 seconds left. Sabol battled through contact to get the corner three up, but didn't go.
BUFFALO LEADERS
Ryan Sabol: 24 pts., 8-19 FG, 6-15 3PTFG, 5 reb., 3 asst.
Angelo Brizzi: 17 pts., 6-12 FG, 2 reb., 2 asst., 2 stl.
Tim Oboh: 12 pts., 6-9 FG, 12 reb., 3 stl., 1 blk.
Noah Batchelor: 9 pts., 3-5 FG, 3-5 3PTFG, 4 reb., 2 asst., 1 stl.
TEAM STATS
Akron Zips: 45.8 FG% (27-of-59), 33.3 3PTFG% (8-of-24), 61.1 FT% (11-of-18), 36 Reb., 12 Asst., 11 TO, 9 Stl., 2 Blk.
Buffalo Bulls: 46.3 FG% (25-of-54), 37.0 3PTFG% (10-of-27), 50.0 FT% (10-of-20), 33 Reb., 13 Asst., 13 TO, 7 Stl., 1 Blk.
Thank you for your support all season long, Bulls fans!
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Sabol led the way for the 14th time this season as he scored 24 points. In his effort, he drained six threes on the evening. Following in performance, Sabol passed the 600-point mark on the season. He joins Javon McCrea and CJ Massinburg as the only Bulls to reach this mark. He totaled 603 points on the season with 122 threes, a single season program record.
Angelo Brizzi finished with 17 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Tim Oboh secured his second career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. In his final collegiate game, Noah Batchelor scored nine points as he went 3-for-5 from three.
Struggles from the free throw line were costly as the Bulls finished 10-of-20 (50.0%). Akron went 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the charity stripe.
Buffalo took the early lead at 14-9 and held the lead as they pushed it to 20-16 with 9:57 to go in the first half. The momentum shifted as the Zips went on an 11-0 run gave them a 27-20 lead with 7:05 remaining. In that stretch, Akron was 5-of-6 from the field. The Zips pulled away from the Bulls to close the half as they headed to the locker room trailing, 42-29.
In the first five minutes of the second half, Akron ballooned their lead to 52-36, their largest lead of the night. The Bulls' grit mentality came through despite Akron leading by double digits. The Bulls charged in the final five minutes. A Sabol driving layup made it a 67-58 lead with 4:56 to go. Akron quickly brought their lead back to 13 points, leading 71-58 with 4:14 remaining in regulation.
Buffalo's defense to offense transition caught fire in the closing minutes. Sabol drained a three to make it a 10-point game. Brizzi cut it to single digits after a made free throw, soon after Sabol would hit another three to make it 71-65. After two missed shots by the Zips, Batchelor drilled yet another three to force an Akron timeout trailing 71-68 with 1:57 to go. In the ensuing possession, Oboh made a layup to cut Akron's lead to 71-70 with 1:19 left as the Bulls went on a 12-0 run. Following another defensive stop, Brizzi pulled the trigger with a wide open three which rimmed out. A pair of free throws by Akron pushed their lead to 73-70 with 30 seconds remaining. In their final possession, Ezra McKenna had an open look in the corner to tie the game, but didn't go. Buffalo retained possession on the dead ball offensive rebound with 1.1 seconds left. Sabol battled through contact to get the corner three up, but didn't go.
BUFFALO LEADERS
Ryan Sabol: 24 pts., 8-19 FG, 6-15 3PTFG, 5 reb., 3 asst.
Angelo Brizzi: 17 pts., 6-12 FG, 2 reb., 2 asst., 2 stl.
Tim Oboh: 12 pts., 6-9 FG, 12 reb., 3 stl., 1 blk.
Noah Batchelor: 9 pts., 3-5 FG, 3-5 3PTFG, 4 reb., 2 asst., 1 stl.
TEAM STATS
Akron Zips: 45.8 FG% (27-of-59), 33.3 3PTFG% (8-of-24), 61.1 FT% (11-of-18), 36 Reb., 12 Asst., 11 TO, 9 Stl., 2 Blk.
Buffalo Bulls: 46.3 FG% (25-of-54), 37.0 3PTFG% (10-of-27), 50.0 FT% (10-of-20), 33 Reb., 13 Asst., 13 TO, 7 Stl., 1 Blk.
Thank you for your support all season long, Bulls fans!
For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
Team Stats
UB
UA
FG%
.463
.458
3FG%
.370
.333
FT%
.500
.611
RB
33
36
TO
13
11
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard/Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's BasketballGuard
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