by Akron, OH; Riding a three-game winning streak with just four games left to go, the Akron Zips knew there were not many tune-ups left heading into the MAC tournament. With that being said, the Buffalo Bulls would be on on the negative side of things Tuesday night as the Zips got the job done with a 99-85 win.
It would be a collective effort tonight which featured five different players scoring in double digits. But the seniors led the way without a doubt as Tavari Johnson put up 23 points, Evan Mahaffey scored a career-high 20 points, and Amani Lyles put up a double-double finishing with 19 points, and 10 rebounds.
The start was quite a rollercoaster to say the least, as Buffalo held as much of a 20-13 lead large part due to a 15-2 run. Ryan Sabol came to play shooting a hot 4-for-8 from deep in just the first half, while scoring a game-high 28 points entirely. But it was really Akron’s own fault early on with their poor shooting and rebounding.
Give the Zips credit though as they fought back and even came away with a 39-35 halftime lead. The defense helped changed the game around as they forced eight first half turnovers. Despite just shooting 2-for-11 from deep so far, going a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line would help make up the points missed. “The first twenty minutes I thought we played like how we practiced Monday, which was terrible,” head coach John Groce said following the win.
Akron would completely flip the switch in the second half, and they were able to open up a 25-point lead in ten minutes at 84-59. All it simply took was for the shots to start falling, as the ball movement was looking flawless. Despite just six assists in the first half, they finished the game with 18 total. Shammah Scott got it going again from three, which is always a difference maker for the offense.
But the final ten minutes is where the Bulls could get some credit at as they finished the game outscoring the Zips, 26-15. Playing full-court press to finish off the game, it turned into sloppiness for the home team thanks to a ton of turnovers to finish it off. “It’s Februrary going into March, we need to start playing complete games and not just spurts of good basketball,” Evan Mahaffey said about the finish.
With a big rivalry matchup on the road Friday night, Akron will sure have their hands full and need to come prepared for a Kent team that can get physical with Rob Whaley Jr.
