|
AKRON, OH – A wise old college basketball philosopher said once a team cannot win a game in the first half, but they sure can lose it.
The Akron Zips came out of the blocks fast Wednesday night, outscoring Buffalo 24-6 in the game’s first 10 minutes and never looking back as they put together a 77-67 victory before 3,975 fans at Rhodes Arena.
Akron (21-8, 11-3 MAC) won for the sixth time in the last seven games, bouncing back from a 70-53 loss at Virginia Commonwealth Saturday. The Zips now own a six-game winning streak over MAC opposition, and stayed tied for first in the Eastern Division with Kent State, who won at Bowling Green.
In addition, the victory gave the Zips a first-round bye in the upcoming 2010 FirstEnergy MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Cleveland.
Buffalo (16-10, 8-6 MAC) saw its five-game winning streak come to an end as it battles for home-court advantage in the first round of the MAC Tournament.
Sophomore guard Steve McNees led five Zips players in scoring with 15 points while going 3-for-5 from three-point range. Junior forward Brett McKnight added 14 coming off the bench. Senior forward Chris McKnight had 12 and senior Jimmy Conyers chipped in 11 points and 10 rebounds while registering his sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore Nikola Cvetinovic also had 11.
“We shot the ball in, and they didn’t” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said after the game. “They (Buffalo) had a rough time early and we capitalized on it”
Buffalo had four players in double figures, led by senior guard Rodney Pierce , whopaced all scorers with 19 points - all coming in the second half. Pierce connected for 31 points when the two teams met in Buffalo back on January 17th, a 78-65 Bulls victory.
Another senior, forward Calvin Betts, added 15 along with 14 rebounds. Sophomore Sean Smiley scored 11, and senior Max Boudreau added 10, both coming off the bench
The game was decided in the first 10:16 of the contest as the Zips blitzed the Bulls with the three-point shot - two coming off the hands of McNees and the other from Brett McKnight as Akron first built a 10-2 lead and then escalated it to 18-2. Buffalo was held pointless for 6:44 before Boudreau hit a 15-foot foul line jumper.
The Bulls were as cold as the windy, snowy weather outside of ‘The JAR’ as they missed 12 of their first 13 shots while Akron was connecting on six of their first ten attempts, including all three of their three-pointers.
“We do a good job in guarding their stuff (Buffalo’s offense) … but they have so much and they make you play through that whole (35 second) clock” Dambrot said.
The Bulls never really had a run in the game’s first 20 minutes. After its fast start, UA played them to a stalemate and went into halftime with a 39-23 lead.
The Zips shot 50 percent from the field in the first half (13-for-26) and were 5-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc. They also owned a 21-15 rebound edge. In fact, the only thing that kept the game from really being out of sight for Buffalo was Akron hitting just 8-for-14 from the free throw line. The Bulls connected on only 9-for-32 from the floor in the first half and Pierce was held scoreless.
Akron’s lead would not fall below double-digits. The closest the Bulls could get was 10 points, and that was in the final moments of the game on two occasions - 75-65, and 77-67.
“I think the best thing we did was maintain our lead between 10 and 14 points” Dambrot said.
The Zips improved their shooting in the second half as they connected on 13-of-24 shots (54.2 percent), giving them 52 percent for the game (26-for-50) along with going 12-for-15 from the foul line.
Buffalo shot better, as well, but was 13-for-32 (40.6%). UB finished the contest at 34.4 (22-for-64) after entering the game leading the MAC in field-goal percentage at 43.9 percent. The Bulls did win the rebound battle 36-34.
“I thought this was one of the biggest regular season games of the year because it allows us to play for the (Eastern Division) championship the last game of the year. It gets you the (first-round) bye, and also takes pressure off of us” Dambrot said.
Akron plays its final regular-sesaon road game Saturday at Bowling Green while Buffalo returns home to face Ohio.
NOTES: The game was the 42nd lifetime meeting with the Zips holding a 24-18 advantage…Zips have won three of the last four games in the series including the 2009 MAC Tournament Championship Game...Zips head coach Keith Dambrot is 9-4 lifetime against Buffalo and head coach Reggie Witherspoon…Witherspoon is 8-14 against Akron…Akron is 14-3 at home (6-1 in MAC play)..Before the game seniors Chris McKnight, Jimmy Conyers, and Tim Carroll were honored before the game.
|
