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KENT, OH ­ The University at Buffalo Bulls dropped a 91-53 decision to Kent State before a crowd of 4,177 at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio on Tuesday night.

The Bulls, now 9-9 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference, defeated the defending MAC Champions, 66-65, on a last second shot by Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) in the first meeting between the two schools January 9. Kent State, who now has won nine of its last 10 games, improves to 13-5 overall and 6-1 in the MAC.

Jason Bird

The Golden Flashes, feeling comfortable on their home court where they have won 43 of the last 47 games, hit an incredible 10 straight three-pointers (10-of-11) and shot a remarkable 63% from the field in the opening half. Buffalo's Clement Smith (Brooklyn, NY/Westinghouse) scored on a lay-up to open the scoring but Kent State scored the next 15 points. Five minutes later, the Flashes' lead doubled to 26 points and eventually grew to as much as 37 points (48-11) before Buffalo scored five of the last six points to close the first half.

The Bulls regrouped in the second half and were outscored by just five points (42-37) in the final 20 minutes despite going 2-of-11 from behind the three-point arc.

"They played very, very physical and we didn't," said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon. "Therefore you saw a huge discrepancy in the kind of shots that we were taking. Our guys didn't respond to the level of contact and the level of aggression that took place in the game. We didn't bump back and it put us in a hole, and then it put them in a real comfort zone. They felt as though they owned us, and they played as though they owned us. We've got to learn that when you beat a team the first time, the second time they are going to come out and play hard."

Buffalo's leading scorer Darcel Williams (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) was held to a season-low three points on 1-of-8 shooting in 24 minutes of work. In addition, UB's starting five combined for just 25 points, with 10 coming from freshman Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth). Off the bench for the Bulls, freshman Jason Bird (Ypsilanti, MI/Ypsilanti) had 10 points and Kevin Swoffer (Independence, MO/William Chrisman) added nine points. Kent State was led by Trevor Huffman and Andrew Mitchell. Huffman finished with 24 points and seven rebounds and Mitchell had 22 points.

For the game, UB shot 27% (19-of-70) from the field and 54% (12-of-22) from the line. The Bulls were outrebounded 49-42 and both teams had 13 turnovers.

The Bulls return home to host Northwestern, of the Big Ten, in the second part of a double header on Saturday, January 26 (7 p.m.). The women's team will host MAC rival Akron in the first game at 5 p.m.