Buffalo Defeats Kent State in Quarterfinals of MAC Tournament, 65-62

Bulls will face Ball State in the semifinals on Friday

CLEVELAND, OH - The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team defeated Kent State, 65-6

Calvin Betts

2, in the quarterfinals of the First Energy Mid-American Conference Tournament at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday afternoon. The Bulls advanced to play second-seeded Ball State in the semifinals on Friday night at 7:30 pm.

Buffalo (20-10) used rebounding and defense to get by the sixth-seeded Golden Flashes. The Bulls held Kent State to 38.2 percent shooting and outrebounded the Flashes, 40-32. Calvin Betts had a career-best 18 rebounds - two shy of the MAC Tournament record. The junior swingman added 11 points for his fourth double-double of the season.

The Bulls jumped out to a 12-5 lead and led for the entire first half. Andy Robinson hit a pair of free throws with 5:12 left in the opening stanza to give the Bulls a 27-19 lead. The two points made Robinson the 15th player in school history to score 1,000 points for his career.

Kent State closed the half on an 11-2 scoring run to cut the Buffalo advantage to 31-30 at the half. Titus Robinson was an early spark for the Bulls as the freshman forward scored nine of his 10 points in the first half.

It was a see-saw affair in the second half with neither team taking more than a four-point lead for much of the half. A three-pointer by Al Fisher gave Kent State a 51-48 lead with 8:01 left. Greg Gamble answered with a jumper on the Bulls’ next possession and following a steal by Rodney Pierce, Gamble found Mitchell Watt for an alley-oop dunk that gave the Bulls a 52-51 lead.

A layup by Watt gave the Bulls the lead for good, 54-53, with 5:39 remaining. Gamble’s seventh assist of the game found Max Boudreau for a layup that put the Bulls ahead, 59-54, with 2:12 left.

Greg Gamble

A pair of Jordan Mincy free throws cut the Buffalo lead to 64-62 with 41 seconds left. After Gamble sank a free throw to put the Bulls up by three in the closing seconds, the Bulls locked down on defense. Andy Robinson came up with a steal with five seconds remaining to seal the win for UB.

Boudreau led the Bulls with 13 points – one off his career high. Watt and Gamble each added eight points.

“It was a hard fought game,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “It was a slugfest, all of the clichés, but these kids persevered, even when momentum shifted they maintained their focus and determination.”

The win secured the Bulls their second 20-win season in school history and they advance to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament for only the second time since joining the conference.

Buffalo will play a Ball State team that beat the Bulls, 53-51, at Worthen Arena back on February 15.