Tag it:

?

Akron (12-5, 2-1) was unable to contain senior guard Rodney Pierce, who erupted for 31 points after entering the contest ranked second among MAC scorers with an 18.9 ppg. average. He has now scored 20 or more points in each of the past eight games, and the 31 points equal his career high, set against Liberty Dec. 30.

Akron also had trouble with less-ballyhooed Sean Smiley. The senior, averaging 6.8 points per game, equaled his total output for the previous five games by scoring 21 points against the Zips

Both Pierce and Smiley did much of their damage from long range. Pierce was 10 for 19 from the field overall but hit 4 of 5 trey attempts.  Smiley, meanwhile, hit all four of his three-point shots while connecting on 8 of 9 from the field in 25 minutes of participation.
He was part of a Buffalo bench which contributed 33 points. Akron managed 13 points via bench personnel.

Both teams had 23 field goals, and Akron owned advantages in points in the paint (30-18) and rebounds (34-29). However, Buffalo (10-4, 3-0) had nine treys to four by Akron. Moreover, the Bulls converted 23 of 28 free throws, while Akron made 15 of 27. The Zips ranked last (MAC) in free throw shooting percentage through Saturday.

Jimmy Conyers scored 17 to lead Akron scoring.  Steve McNees was the only other Zips player in double figures. He had 16 points, including four treys.

The two teams battled on even terms through most of the first half, and Jimmy Conyers’ bucket at 3:45 knotted the game at 27-27. That, however, turned out to be Akron’s last points of the half. Pierce’s three-point jumper at 2:41 started a 13-0 Buffalo run covering the remainder of the period.

Chris McKnight’s layup at 12:16 of the second half reduced Akron’s deficit to eight points, but when the final horn sounded, Buffalo had the same 13-point advantage it enjoyed at the end of the first half.

“It was a hart-fought game. Akron is a very physical team,” Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “I thought once we got through the initial onslaught of their defense, we were able to get some movement and get them spread out a little bit.

“We didn’t slow down. We kept moving the ball and kept moving bodies, and I think the big thing was that today we had a better defensive effort.

Buffalo entered the game ranked first among MAC teams in offense (73.3 ppg.) but 11th of 12 teams in defense (69.1 ppg).