 AKRON 69, BUFFALO 60 SECOND HALF DAMAGE
Cvetinovic scored 14 of his points in the second half and finished the game having made 6-of-10 field goals and 10-of-11 free throws. The junior was 6-for-7 from the line and 4-for-5 from the floor after intermission. Cvetinovic also had four rebounds and two steals. Senior Brett McKnight finished with 14 points, 12 of which came in the first half, three rebounds and one steal.
Akron held a 35-34 lead at halftime, but scored the first seven points of the second period to go up 42-34 on a Cvetinovic layup at the 17:51 mark. A layup by Mitchell Watt ended the Zips' early run. UA responded with 3-pointers by Steve McNees and Brett McKnight during its next two possessions, pushing the lead to 48-36, its biggest of the night, with 16:16 left.
BULLS RUN CLOSES GAP
Buffalo (16-11, 7-7 MAC) used a 9-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Zach Filzen, to cut the margin to 48-45 with 11:28 to play and pulled to within 55-53 on another 3-pointer by Jarod Oldham with 8:24 remaining. An Alex Abreu 3-pointer the next time down the floor pushed the UA lead back to five with 8:10 left and the Zips held the lead the rest of the way.
A 3-pointer by Brett McClanahan, the squad's eighth of the night, sealed the contest with 23 seconds remaining, making the score 67-60. Cvetinovic converted two of three free throws with seven seconds on the clock to secure the final margin.
Javon McCrea led Buffalo with 23 points as the Bulls lost for the fourth time in five games.
Akron shot 46.8 percent (22-of-47) from the field for the game, while Buffalo made 44.4 percent (24-of-54) of its shots from the floor.
The Zips close the regular season with back-to-back road games, starting with a trip to Ohio on Tuesday evening. Tip off at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Notebook: With one block against Buffalo, Zeke Marshall’s tied Romeo Travis for the program's single-season blocks record with 65 ... Akron posted its seventh-straight victory at Rhodes Arena and is 13-2 at home this season (7-1 MAC). It's the sixth time in seven years UA has won at least 13 home contests … Seventh-year Akron head coach Keith Dambrot moved into sole possession of 10th place in the MAC league-only wins list (90) among all conference coaches.
Courtesy of Akron Athletics |
