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Celebration time! / Photo: Nate Thompson

"We were a little more fortunate tonight than the other two times," Akron coach Keith Dambrot said.

Akron, a team that shot 41.7% from the field for the year, continued its hot shooting Saturday night. They connected on 55.3% of their field goals and 57.1% of their three-point attempts.

"They shot it like I haven't seen them shoot it all season," UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "They got hot, they made some tough shots. And we seemed to come right back and take the first shot that seemed available."

In contrast to Akron's scorching shooting, Buffalo (21-11, 11-5) shot 36.7% from the field and 18.8% from three. Neither team excelled at the free throw line, Akron shooting 55.6% and Buffalo 60.9%.

"I felt like Akron had a good rhythm and we kinda rushed our shots," Buffalo guard Calvin Betts said.

Betts scored 12 on 2-7 shooting and grabbed 7 rebounds to lead the Bulls in both categories. Greg Gamble shot 5-7 to score 11. Brett McKnight led all scorers with 16 points, Chris McKnight scored 12 and Darryl Roberts scored 10 for the Zips.

The Zips defense limited Buffalo to 36.7 percent shooting. Photo: Nate Thompson

Akron forward Brett McKnight said they used the momentum from their come from behind overtime victory against Toledo in the opening round Tuesday to fuel them.

"I don't know if it's because we're young and dumb or what," Akron forward Nate Linhart, the tournament MVP, said. "We have so much resolve. We just don't know when to quit."

Brett McKnight and Steve McNees also made the all-tournament team for the Zips. Max Boudreau for UB was also selected, with Nate Miller of Bowling Green rounding the team out.

"I thought we played our best basketball of the year the last three games," Dambrot said.

After a close margin in the game's opening minutes, Akron's 7-1 run pushed its lead to 15-8 midway through the first half. The Zips took a 33-25 lead into the break.

Coming out of the locker room, the Zips continued to extend their lead with a 14-4 run in the first 6:51 of the half. A 9-1 Buffalo run late in the game brought the Bulls to within single digits, but Darryl Roberts ended the threat with a three-pointer.

"They shot open threes like they were free throws," Witherspoon said.

Buffalo outscored Akron in the paint 26-18 and outrebounded the Zips 34-27, but Akron was able to control post play. UB forward Mitchell Watt went scoreless and Max Boudreau scored 8.

"The game was probably a little more physical than what Mitchell was ready for," Witherspoon said. "They were good around the basket at taking away position."

Dambrot said the plan was to shut down Buffalo's guards and force the post game to beat them.

Akron's Brett McKnight was Game MVP after scoring 16 points. Photo: Nate Thompson

Akron starting guard Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens, who sat out Friday's semifinal against Bowling Green with a sprained left ankle, did not warm up or start the game. He entered the game early and quickly scored five points en route to 10 total points on the night. Dambrot said he did not know if he was going to play Hitchens at all, and his insertion was a quick trial.

"I rolled the dice with him, and he played well," Dambrot said.

Akron moves on to the NCAA tournament for the second time in school history and the first time since 1986, when the school was a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and coached by Bob Huggins. Buffalo's future is uncertain will now wait to see if they get a call from the NIT, CBI or CIT.

"It was a typical MAC tournament," Dambrot said. "And maybe a little worse this year because there was no clear-cut team... I never thought there was much difference between the top and the bottom."

 

Akron's Nate Linhart accept his Tournament MVP award from MAC Commissioner Rick Chryst Photo: Nate Thompson

NOTES: Akron's third consecutive appearance in MAC tournament championship … First ever tournament meeting between Buffalo and Akron … Zips were only the second fifth-seed to appear in the MAC championship since 1981 when Northern Illinois lost to Ball State, 79-66 … Buffalo's second appearance in MAC championship after losing in 2005 final to Ohio, 80-79 … This was the third meeting this season between Akron and Buffalo with the teams splitting the regular season series … Seventh time teams from same division have met in championship game (1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009) … This will be Akron's second all-time appearance in the NCAA tournament - 1986 lost to Michigan, 70-69 … Akron head coach Keith Dambrot is now 8-3 all-time vs. Buffalo and Reggie Witherspoon is 8-13 all-time vs. Akron …. Buffalo players wore the number 3407 on their uniforms in honor of the victims of Continental Airlines Flight 3407 which crashed near Buffalo on Feb 12.

Notes Compiled by Evan Meyer for MAC Report Online

2009 MAC All-Tournament Team