Willie Conner scored 22 points, Blake Hamilton made four 3-pointers in the second half and defending champion Buffalo advanced to the Mid-American Conference title game by beating Ohio 88-74 on Friday night.
The third-seeded Bulls (19-14) made a season-high 14 3-pointers and held off a rally by the Bobcats (21-11) to get back to the championship in their first season under coach Nate Oats.
Buffalo will play top-seeded Akron on Saturday. The Zips, who beat Buffalo twice during the regular season, defeated No. 12 seed Bowling Green 80-66 in the other semifinal.
Hamilton scored 20 points, Lamonte Bearden added 15 points and nine assists, and Nick Perkins chipped in 14 points for the Bulls.
Antonio Campbell, the conference's player of the year, led Ohio with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bobcats were within 69-63 before Buffalo went on a 10-1 run to put it away.
