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Turner Battle

BUFFALO, NY ­ The Buffalo men's basketball team dropped a 72-66 decision to a physical Ohio squad at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night. For the second game in a row, the Bulls had a difficult time stopping the opponent's big man. Tonight, it was Ohio center Brandon Hunter who scored a career-high 32 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to pace the Bobcats.

"I thought he was the dominating force of the game," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said of Hunter. "He dominated the game."

The game was tight throughout the first half with Ohio holding a 32-28 halftime advantage. The Bobcats opened a 12-point lead with 8:10 remaining in the second half. The Bulls refused to go away, mounting a 7-0 scoring run to cut the lead to five points with 6:11 left in the game. However, the versatile Hunter quieted the UB faithful by calmly draining a three-pointer on the next possession to give Ohio an eight-point advantage and help seal the contest for the Bobcats.

The Bulls suffered from poor shooting all night as they shot 37.3 percent (22-59) from the field and 21.7 percent (5-23) from beyond the arc. "I think we came out and shot too many three's," Witherspoon said.

Buffalo (3-12, 0-6) was led by Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) and Calvin Cage (Bowie, MD/Bladensburg) who each scored 13 points. Battle added a game-high eight assists. Joe Veal (Chicago, IL/Osborn) also reached double-figures by scoring a career-high 12 points. Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central) grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Ohio (5-9, 2-4) got all of its scoring from only five players. Along with Hunter, the Bobcats were led by Sonny Johnson who scored 19 points and Steve Esterkamp who chipped in with 13.

It was the eighth straight loss for the Bulls who remain winless in the Mid-American Conference this season.