Bulls Win Streak Snapped By Akron

AKRON, OH -- The University at Buffalo men's basketball team couldn't overcome a fast start by Akron and fell to the division-leading Zips, 77-67, at Rhodes Arena on Wednesday night. Akron jumped out to a 24-4 lead and never looked back, snapping the Bulls' five-game winning streak.
Buffalo (16-10, 8-6 MAC) stumbled out of the gate hitting only two of its first 17 shots. The Bulls shot 9-of-32 for the half. Conversely, Akron (21-8, 11-3 MAC) shot 50 percent for the half and led 39-23 at the break.

The Bulls managed to cut the Akron lead to 12 points on a couple occasions in the second half, but failed to get the lead to single digits.

Calvin Betts notched his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and a season-high 14 rebounds and added three steals. Rodney Pierce shook off a poor first half, to score all of his game-high 19 points in the second half. Sean Smiley and Max Boudreau also scored in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Akron had five players score in double-figures, led by Steve McNees' 15.

"Akron deserved to win," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "They outworked us in almost every category."

Buffalo will play its final home game of the regular season on Saturday night when it hosts Ohio at Alumni Arena at 7:00 pm.