Bulls Can’t Rally Past Bowling Green

UB drops MAC opener to Falcons, 86-82

Greg Gamble

BOWLING GREEN, OH - The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team dropped its Mid-American Conference opener to Bowling Green, 86-82, at Anderson Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls rallied from a 21-point second-half deficit, but couldn’t surpass a hot-shooting Falcon squad.

Bowling Green shot 65.5 percent in the first half and closed the half on a 29-10 scoring run to take a 46-30 lead at the break.

The Falcons torrid shooting continued after halftime as they made five of their first six shots in the second half, including three three-pointers, to take a 21-point advantage. Bowling Green held the 21-point margin with 12:57 left, before the Bulls mounted a comeback.

A three-pointer by Calvin Betts cut the Bowling Green advantage to 67-57 with 9:03 left. The Falcons were able to reestablish a 17-point lead with 5:45 remaining. However, aided by a 13-2 scoring run, the Bulls whittled the lead to 78-72 with 1:22 left.

Betts hit his fourth three-pointer of the game to cut the lead to 83-79 will 11 seconds left. Following a pair of BG free throws, Greg Gamble scored and was fouled. His free throw brought the Bulls to within three points with four seconds left. However, a free throw by Bowling Green sealed the win for the Falcons.

Rodney Pierce led the Bulls with 20 points. Betts added 17 points – all in the second half. Gamble had a solid all-around performance with 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Andy Robinson was the fourth Bull in double-figures with 10 points.

The Bulls tied a season low with seven turnovers and outrebounded the Falcons, 41-34. However, the hot shooting of Bowling Green was the difference in the game. The Falcons shot 53.4 percent from the floor for the game, including 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.

“It was a well-played game by both teams, but we didn’t play hard enough in the first half to give us a chance in the end,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “It was a learning experience for us.”

The Bulls will remain on the road and play at Akron on Tuesday night.