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Jami Bosley nearly single-handedly spoiled Buffalo's first foray in the Mid-American Conference.

The junior first-team All-MAC selection hit 11-of-17 shots from the field and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Akron to a 72-60 win before 1,238 fans at Alumni Arena. The Bulls tried almost everything including a triangle-and-two in the second half in an attempt to stop the sharpshooting native of Massilon but nothing really worked.

"Jami just does a great job of reading screens and finding a way to get his shots," said Akron coach Dan Hipsher. "He did a great job for us today, particularly in the first half (when he scored 15 points)."

"We're a veteran team that knows how to play together," said Bosley, noting that the Zips committed just nine turnovers despite good defensive pressure from the Bulls. "We're nowhere near where we can be as a team but we're playing smart fundamental basketball."

Buffalo guard Louis Campbell, who led the Bulls with 19 acrobatic points and added four assists, said Bosley was a microcosm of Akron's team. "He's a really smart player who knows how to outthink you," said Campbell who led Buffalo in scoring for the third straight game. "You just have to play smart defense against him and hope he misses some shots. Akron took advantage of every tiny little mistake we made."

The key to the game might have been the final 2:34 of the first half. Akron led 33-27 but closed the half with an 8-0 run including a trey by Bosley with :27 left off a Buffalo turnover.

"Akron is just a sound team and the last two minutes of the first half was where we lost the game. We just got a little careless, and that's the sign of a young team, and all of sudden we're down 14 at half. The sign of a smart team is one that doesn't turn it over. You can't find a careless turnover they committed and one that doesn't foul," said Cohane. "They got 17 foul shots and we only got four and that's nothing besides them being smart."

The Bulls made things interesting in the second half, however. Buffalo trailed 58-40 with 9:49 left before mounting a charge. The Bulls (3-3) outscored Akron, 15-6 to cut the lead to 64-55 on a dunk by sophomore Maliso Libomi off a feed by Campbell. Akron had the answer, however, as reserve David Falknor hit a key three-pointer with 4:16 left and the Zips led by double digits the rest of the way.

"Once we settled down and just played like we can play I think we showed that we're ready to compete in this league," said Cohane. "We might not be ready to win but we can compete in this league and the second half I think we showed that against a very fine team."

Ryan Andrick (12 points, six rebounds) and Jimmal Ball (11 points) also were in double figures for the Zips, who held a 40-33 rebounding edge in the game. Jawanza Moore had 10 boards to pace Akron. Freshman Alexei Vasiliev (13 points) and Libomi (11 points) also hit double figures for Buffalo who had 16 turnovers in the game.