Buffalo tops Kent St. in MAC semifinal

There was a running of the Bulls on March 9 at Quicken Loans Arena.

In the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference men’s tournament, the No. 2 seed Buffalo Bulls ran by No. 5 seed Kent State, 7861.

With the impressive victory, Buffalo advanced to the championship game for the third time in the last four years.

The Bulls are 2-0 in championship games, claiming titles in 2015 with Bobby Hurley as coach and in 2016 with current coach Nate Oats at the helm.

Junior forward Jeremy Harris again was the catalyst for the Bulls.

The 6-foot-7 North Carolina native with the silky smooth left-handed shot led all scorers with 22 points. He was 8-of-13 from the field overall and a deadly 5-of-6 from 3-point range. He also grabbed seven rebounds.

Harris, an All-MAC second team honoree, is making a serious bid to be the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He poured in 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in the Bulls’ 89-74 quarterfinal victory over Central Michigan on March 8.

Against the Golden Flashes, Harris scored 13 points in the first half as the Bulls took a 39-29 lead at the break.

“My teammates are doing a good job of finding me and I’m making the shots,” Harris said.

Junior guard C.J. Massinburg chipped in with 14 points for the Bulls. Burly junior center Nick Perkins scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Junior guard Dontay Caruthers added 11 points as the Bulls improved to 25-8.