The University of Akron Athletics
Thursday, March 10
Cleveland, Ohio
Apprx. 1:30 p.m.
University of Akron
22-9,14-6MAC
70
vs
68
Buffalo
19-11,13-6MAC
1
2
F
Buffalo
32
36
68
Akron
32
38
70
Tribble’s Free Throws Lift Akron Past Buffalo, Zips Advance to MAC Semifinals
March 10 | Men's Basketball
Follow Akron Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram | Follow Coach Groce on Twitter
Boxscore (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Postgame Comments
CLEVELAND, Ohio- With the score tied at 68 and 3.2 seconds remaining, sophomore guard Greg Tribble (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied the winning points on a pair of free throws to lift the Akron Zips past Buffalo 70-68 in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 10 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Zips (22-9, 14-6 MAC) advance to the MAC Tournament semifinals to square off against first-seeded Toledo in the semifinal game on Friday, March 11. The showdown will tip-off at 5:00 p.m.
Sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) paced the Zips with a 19-point, three-rebound, and three-steal performance. Junior point guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore Mikal Dawson (Huntington, W Va.) 15 and 14 points, respectively.
With the game notched at 68 and 22 seconds on the clock, a three-pointer by Buffalo's Keishawn Brewton didn't go and gave the Zips' offense a chance to win the game. With 3.2 seconds left, Tribble was fouled on a layup that sent him to the charity stripe to secure the victory for Akron.
It was a comeback with roots in the first half, but one that pick up speed after intermission.
Akron blew the game open coming out of the break with a fierce 11-1 run topped by back-to-back three-pointers by the Zips. Ali gave Akron its first lead since the opening minutes of the game with a three-pointer, seconds later the lead grew to six after triples from Dawson and Ali put the Zips ahead, 43-37. That edge grew to 10 on a layup by Dawson.
Buffalo was able to put together a 10-2 run that lasted over three minutes that saw the Zips' 10-points lead turn into a 3-point deficit (65-62) with 2:41 to play.
The story was much different in the opening frame. After struggling offensively- including a stretch of 5:00 without a field goal make midway through the first half-the Zips found themselves down 26-18 before a layup by Castaneda ended that drought. Akron closed out the first half with a 6-0 run and tied the score 32-all at the break thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Castaneda.
Akron finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the floor and knocked down 52.9 percent (9-of-17) of shots beyond the arc. The Bulls edged the Zips on the battle of the boards, 35-32.
Jeenathan Williams directed three Buffalo players in double figures with 15 points.
Boxscore (PDF) | Photo Gallery | Postgame Comments
CLEVELAND, Ohio- With the score tied at 68 and 3.2 seconds remaining, sophomore guard Greg Tribble (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied the winning points on a pair of free throws to lift the Akron Zips past Buffalo 70-68 in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday, March 10 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
The Zips (22-9, 14-6 MAC) advance to the MAC Tournament semifinals to square off against first-seeded Toledo in the semifinal game on Friday, March 11. The showdown will tip-off at 5:00 p.m.
Sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) paced the Zips with a 19-point, three-rebound, and three-steal performance. Junior point guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore Mikal Dawson (Huntington, W Va.) 15 and 14 points, respectively.
With the game notched at 68 and 22 seconds on the clock, a three-pointer by Buffalo's Keishawn Brewton didn't go and gave the Zips' offense a chance to win the game. With 3.2 seconds left, Tribble was fouled on a layup that sent him to the charity stripe to secure the victory for Akron.
It was a comeback with roots in the first half, but one that pick up speed after intermission.
Akron blew the game open coming out of the break with a fierce 11-1 run topped by back-to-back three-pointers by the Zips. Ali gave Akron its first lead since the opening minutes of the game with a three-pointer, seconds later the lead grew to six after triples from Dawson and Ali put the Zips ahead, 43-37. That edge grew to 10 on a layup by Dawson.
Buffalo was able to put together a 10-2 run that lasted over three minutes that saw the Zips' 10-points lead turn into a 3-point deficit (65-62) with 2:41 to play.
The story was much different in the opening frame. After struggling offensively- including a stretch of 5:00 without a field goal make midway through the first half-the Zips found themselves down 26-18 before a layup by Castaneda ended that drought. Akron closed out the first half with a 6-0 run and tied the score 32-all at the break thanks to a buzzer-beating three from Castaneda.
Akron finished the game shooting 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the floor and knocked down 52.9 percent (9-of-17) of shots beyond the arc. The Bulls edged the Zips on the battle of the boards, 35-32.
Jeenathan Williams directed three Buffalo players in double figures with 15 points.
Team Stats
UB
UA
FG%
.404
.436
3FG%
.300
.529
FT%
.800
.813
RB
35
34
TO
14
15
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
W
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball2024-25 Akron Zips Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Pre-Game - Press Conference - 3/20/2025
Friday, March 21
2024-25 Zips Weekly with John Groce - Episode #12 - 3/18/25
Wednesday, March 19
2024-25 Akron Zips Men's Basketball Post-Game Press Conference vs. Miami (MAC Championship)
Sunday, March 16
2024-25 Akron Zips Men's Basketball Post-Game Press Conference vs. Toledo (MAC Semifinal) - 3/14/25
Saturday, March 15
