BUFFALO — The UB Bulls men’s basketball team hosts Akron on Friday night in a crucial MAC East contest. Both teams are coming off losses as Buffalo had their six-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday night against Kent State, while Akron has lost its last two following a one-point loss at Bowling Green on Tuesday. In the first meeting between these two teams, Akron defeated Buffalo 91-90 on a free throw from Isaiah Johnson with just over two seconds remaining.
In the first meeting between the two schools, each team had a senior put forth one of their best individual performances. Akron’s Kwan Cheatham Jr. had a career-high 31 points, including seven three pointers in the game, while Buffalo senior Blake Hamilton had 33 points in the game, going 13-of-16 from the floor.
Buffalo currently sits in a third place tie with Ball State for one of the coveted top four seeds in the upcoming Mid-American Conference tournament. The Bulls have a tiebreaker over Ball State due to a better record amongst the ranked teams in the league. It will be a tough finish for UB as they will play the current #1 seed Akron on Friday night before traveling to Ohio on Tuesday evening to play the current #2 seed. UB will conclude the regular season next Friday against Bowling Green. The last three games will all be televised.
Akron is 22-6 on the year and 12-3 in conference play, but the Zips have lost two straight following a 66-65 loss at Bowling Green on Tuesday night. Akron defeated Buffalo 91-90 in a thriller at Rhodes Arena on Jan. 28.
The Zips are led by their big man Isaiah Johnson, who is averaging 16.5 points per game and is shooting 62.2% from the floor. Johnson is also Akron’s leading assist man with 84 on the year. Senior Kwan Cheatham Jr. is second on Akron with 11.8 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. Antino Jackson also averages in double figures at 11.3 points per game.
The first meeting between these teams saw a career night from Kwan Cheatham Jr. who had 31 points, including seven three-pointers. Isaiah Johnson added 27 points and 10 rebounds, including hitting the game-winning free throw with just over two seconds left. In all, four Akron players scored in double figures in the first game.
Keith Dambrot is in his 13th season at Akron and he is the winningest coach in program history. Dambrot became the 21st head coach of Akron men’s basketball on March 10, 2004. Dambrot is one of just eight coaches to own an active streak of 11 or more consecutive seasons of 20-plus wins at the same school. Dambrot came to Akron following a stint as the head coach at Akron’s St. Vincenty-St. Mary’s High School, where he coached NBA superstar LeBron James.
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