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For the second time this season UB let Akron’s Ali Ali get hot and he made the Bulls pay. After falling behind UB did rally but were outplayed by Akron in the last 90 seconds as Buffalo’s season ended with a one and done trip to Cleveland.
Ali Ali had 19 points and Greg Tribble made two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to win the game for the fourth-seeded Zips.
After falling behind later in teh second half Buffalo Coach Jim Whitesell pulled three starters and went to the bench. It was bold, but it worked. UB climbed back and took the lead with under two minutes to play.
Akron fought back and tied the game, Buffalo, with possession, took a timeout and brought the starters back in.
Buffalo missed a 3-pointer with 22 seconds to go. Tribble was fouled as he drove to the basket. Hit pair of points from the Charity Stripe were followed by a desperation three-point shot from Ronaldo Segu that fell short. Segu, whose 15 points per game coming into the contest ranked second on the Bulls, shot only 11 percent for the game.
It’s a crushing loss for Buffalo, who was picked to win the MAC this year, but UB has struggled all season against the better MAC teams, and last night was no different.