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BUFFALO, NY - The Alumni Arena magic ran out on the University at Buffalo men's basketball team on Tuesday night as the Bulls dropped a 62-61 decision to Ohio University. As the final seconds ran down on the clock, freshman Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) drove to the net for the potential game-winner and released a shot from the left side that hit the front of the rim and bounced out before being knocked out of bounds as time expired.

The Bulls, who had previously defeated Canisius (58-56) and Kent State (66-65) at the buzzer at home this year, have now lost back-to-back games for just the second time this year. Buffalo falls to 8-8 overall and 3-3 in the MAC while Ohio improves to 9-4 overall and 4-1 in the MAC.

Turner Battle

Buffalo made 11 of its first 15 shots and played exceptional defense to storm out to 23-9 lead in the first 10:11 of the game. During that span, the Bulls forced nine Ohio turnovers and held the Bobcats to four field goals on 4-of-10 shooting. However, a lay-up by Brandon Hunter followed by back-to-back dunks by the 6-7, junior sparked a 16-3 Bobcat run to pull Ohio within a point at the break (26-25).

Ohio took its first lead on a Hunter basket to begin the second half before Battle hit a jumper and senior Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) drained a three-pointer to put the Bulls back on top. Following a Battle free throw, the Bobcats converted a pair from the charity strip and hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 32-32. Campbell then put Buffalo back on top by two points after a Buffalo timeout and both teams traded baskets for the next seven minutes before Ohio erased Buffalo's last lead on a three-pointer at the 8:31 mark. The Bobcats built their lead up to eight points with 4:20 remaining but a five-point run by Buffalo pulled the Bulls within two points with 1:47 left. After a missed two-point attempt by Ohio, Buffalo called a timeout with 1:04 remaining to set up a inbound play under the Bobcats net. Off the inbound, Battle found a wide-open Clement Smith (Brooklyn, NY/Westinghouse) under the net but Smith's lay-in didn't fall. Jaivon Harris then knocked down a pair of free throws on the other end to put Ohio up by four points. Senior Darcel Williams (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) trimmed the deficit to a point on a three-pointer with :28 left. The Bulls sent Harris to the line with :12 left but this time his attempt was off and Smtih grabbed the rebound to set up Battle's potential game-winner.

"If you're going to take the good, you have to take the bad," said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon referring to Buffalo's successful buzzer-beating shots earlier in the year. "We got two good looks at the basket. Sometimes they roll in, sometimes they don't roll in. We know in that situation we are prepared to get a shot to win the game."

Williams led Buffalo with 20 points and Campbell added 13 more. The Bulls shot 47.9 % from the floor (23-of-48) while hitting a season-low three trifectas (3-of-13). Ohio outrebounded the Bulls, 31-22, but turned the ball over eight more times than Buffalo (20-12). Sonny Johnson finished with 19 points to lead the Bobcats.

The Bulls will hit the road for a pair of Mid-American Conference games, traveling to Marshall on Saturday, January 19, and Kent State on Tuesday, January 22.