Bulls Clip Zips, 63-61

Late basket by Betts lifts UB to first conference win

Calvin Betts

AKRON, OH - With the help of more late-game heroics, the University at Buffalo men's basketball team defeated Akron, 63-61, at Rhodes Arena on Tuesday night. The Bulls handed the Zips only their seventh loss in their last 65 home games and won at Rhodes Arena for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

With the game tied at 61 and 25 seconds remaining, Rodney Pierce found a cutting Calvin Betts on a backdoor pass for a layup to give the Bulls a 63-61 lead. UB played solid defense in the closing seconds, forcing the Zips to miss two shots at the basket.

Buffalo (9-5, 1-1 MAC) had four players score in double-figures, led by Betts who scored 14 points and added a game-high seven rebounds.

Titus Robinson proved to be a spark for the Bulls as the freshman forward scored a career high 12 points, including the first two three-pointers of his career. He added four rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in only 14 minutes.

Vadim Fedotov and Rodney Pierce each added 10 points.

It was a close game throughout, with neither team taking more than an eight-point lead. Buffalo led 35-33 at the break before opening the second half on a 9-4 scoring run to take a seven-point lead - its biggest of the game. However, Akron scored nine straight points to take a 46-44 advantage with 13 minutes left.

Titus Robinson

The Bulls responded with an 11-2 run of their own, capped by a Betts layup, to regain a 55-48 lead with 8:47 remaining. Another 9-0 Akron run tied the game at 55 with six minutes left.

The lead changed hands several times before a pair of Pierce free throws tied the game at 61 with 1:27 remaining. Fedotov came up with a big offensive rebound off a missed jumper by Greg Gamble to set up the game-winning bucket.

Buffalo had a much better night at the free throw line as it converted 22 of 27 attempts. The Bulls outrebounded the Zips, 32-23, and pulled down 16 offensive rebounds. UB was able to turn those rebounds into 12 second chance points.

"Im proud of our guys. This is a difficult place to win," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "All the little things played into it - free throws, passing, catching and blocking out. It was really a hard fought game."

Buffalo will finally return to Alumni Arena for its first home game in nearly a month when it plays Ohio on Saturday afternoon. The game will follow the women's basketball game against Miami (OH) that tips off at 2 pm.