MEN'S BASKETBALL

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

Bulls Fall Short at Akron, 66-59

Yassin Idbihi

It was a close game throughout with neither team holding more than a seven-point advantage. Akron led for the majority of the first half and held a 30-28 lead at the break. Eric Moore (Dover, NJ/St. Benedict’s Prep) scored all 15 of his points, including three three-pointers in the first half to pace the Bulls early.

A lay-up by Idbihi gave the Bulls their first lead since the opening minutes early in the second half. There were eight lead changes over the next five minutes. A steal and break-away dunk by Akron’s Romeo Travis gave the Zips the lead for good, 39-38, with 13:34 remaining.

Buffalo (9-9, 1-4 MAC) hung around for the rest of the game, not allowing the Zips to pull away. Akron built its lead to seven with 4:20 remaining. But the Bulls got four straight points by Parnell Smith (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) to cut the Akron lead to 55-52 with 3:10 left. A pair of Andy Robinson (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) free throws cut the lead to 57-54 with 1:26 remaining. However, that would be as close as the Bulls would get as the Zips made their free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice.

“The game was played with a great deal of intensity,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “I thought both teams really scrapped hard for 40 minutes, but Akron’s ability to share the ball and play well together put a great strain on our defense.”

Buffalo had an off-night shooting for the second straight game. The Bulls shot just 33.3 percent from the field. The Bulls did go hard to the glass, outrebounding Akron, 40-25, including 18 offensive boards. The Bulls committed 20 turnovers and the Zips were able to turn them into 27 points.

Robinson added nine points for the Bulls. Max Boudreau (Montreal, Quebec/Champlain St. Lambert) made the first start of his career and finished with four points and five rebounds.

With 18 points, Idbihi increased his career total to 1,304, surpassing Curtis Blackmore (1970-73) for ninth in school history in scoring.

Akron was led by Cedrick Middleton and Travis who each scored 12 points.

The Bulls will return home on Wednesday night to host Toledo. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.