Massinburg, Buffalo pull away late for 80-68 win over Akron

Feb 28, 2018, 02:48 am

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- CJ Massinburg hit five 3-pointers and had his eighth double-double of the season, Wes Clark scored 18 points and Buffalo beat Akron 80-68 on Tuesday night to secure the No. 1 seed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament for the first time in school history.

Buffalo (22-8, 14-3) set a program record for conference wins in a season and tied the mark for single-season home wins with 14. The Bulls will wrap up the outright MAC championship with a win over Bowling Green in the season finale on Friday.

Massinburg made a 3 and a layup to cap a 10-3 spurt that trimmed Akron's lead to 43-42 early in the second half. Jimond Ivey hit two free throws for the Zips to tie it at 60-all with six minutes to go, but two quick baskets put Buffalo in front for good as the Bulls made eight of their last 10 field-goal attempts and closed it with a 9-0 run.

Massinburg finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Daniel Utomi had 19 points for Akron (12-17, 5-12) and Ivey scored 15 points with seven rebounds and six assists.