CLEVELAND — During the off-season, Buffalo sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden suffered plenty of losses.
His coach, Bobby Hurley, left for greener pastures out west.
His running mate, shooting guard Shannon Evans, followed Hurley to Arizona State.
His teammate and former MAC MVP, Justin Moss, lost his scholarship and was booted from the roster.
But on the following season’s biggest stage, Bearden was smiling again — surrounded by a different cast of characters.
Blake Hamilton drilled a tie-breaking 3-pointer with just two seconds left as Buffalo beat Akron 64-61 in the championship game of the 2016 Mid-American Conference Tournament inside Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday night.