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Turner Battle

AKRON, OH ­ A sluggish first half cost the Bulls as they fell to the high-scoring Akron Zips, 89-71, at the James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday afternoon. It was the fifth-straight loss for the Bulls and kept them winless on the road this season.

With the score tied at six, early in the contest, Akron went on a 23-3 scoring run and took a commanding 29-9 lead. During that span, the Bulls were unable to hit a shot as they went 10 minutes without scoring a field goal. Akron (7-5, 2-1) took a 36-20 halftime lead. It was the lowest scoring output in a half of basketball by the Bulls this season.

Buffalo (3-9, 0-3) came out in the second half looking like a different team. The spark was provided by Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) who scored 12 of his team-high 18 points in the second stanza. UB cut the lead to 10 points early in the second half, but would get no closer as they were only able to trade buckets with Akron down the stretch. After a poor shooting performance in the first half, the Bulls were just the opposite in the second half. Buffalo did a much better job attacking the basket and scored a season-high 51 points on 51.6 percent shooting. However, the Zips were equally hot, scoring 53 points on 57.7 percent shooting.

The Bulls didn't have an answer for Akron's Derrick Tarver, as the MAC's second-leading scorer dropped a game-high 31 points, including five three-pointers. Darryl Peterson and Johnny Hollingsworth added 18 and 17 points, respectively.

Along with Battle, three other Bulls finished the game in double-figures in the scoring column. Daniel Gilbert (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) reached double-figures for the second-straight game with 13 points. Freshmen Roderick Middleton (University Park, IL/Marian Catholic) and B.J. Walker (Cincinnati, OH/Mount Healthy) each chipped in with 11 points.

The Bulls will look to rebound on Wednesday night when they host defending MAC champion Kent State at Alumni Arena. Tip-off is slated for 7 pm.