CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Top-seeded Buffalo withstood several Chippewa second half rallies before posting an 89-74 win over Central Michigan Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.
Buffalo (24-8) got out to an early lead and was up by nine at the break. CMU, a No. 8 seed, chipped away on several occasions, but the Bulls answered each challenge.
When Cecil Williams . . .
. . . pulled the Chippewas within three at 77-74 with a bucket at 2:35, Wes Clack hit a three at the other end. That was the beginning of 12-straight points for UB, while Central (19-14) would not score again.
"I told our guys going in that on the offensive end, we may struggle a little bit," Buffalo head coach Nate Oats said. "We may have to find other ways to win it. It was the first time in 11 games we didn't shoot over 50 percent from the field, but we had 19 offensive rebounds, so if you get 19 o-boards, and you still shoot 45 percent, you'll probably be all right. I thought we found other ways to win the game."
UB junior Jeremy Harris led all scorers with career-high 27 points, hitting 9 of 16 overall, 4 of 8 from distance and all five free throw attempts. He also owned 10 boards, giving him a double-double on the day.
CJ Massinburg (18) and Nick Perkins (16) also scored in double figures for the Bulls, who meet the Ball State vs Kent State winner in Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal matchup.
As a team, Buffalo connected on 44.9 percent (31 of 69) from the field, 40 percent (12 of 30) on threes and 65 percent (15 of 23 at the stripe).
Williams tallied 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Chippewas challenge.
Kevin McKay hit 5 of 7 from the field, followed with 16 markers off the bench. Luke Meyer and Shawn Rountree chipped in 12 and 10, respectively.
The Chippewas connected on 22 of 61 shots (36.1%) overall but made just 6 of 28 3-point attempts. That 21..4 percent is well below their season average of 34.0 percent from beyond the arc. CMU, one of the nation’s top free throw shooting teams, again helped itself with 24 of 29 (82.8%) at the line.