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Mario Jordan

KENT, OH - The Buffalo men's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 79-75 decision to Kent State at the Memorial Athletic Center on Wednesday night. The Bulls, who have not fared well at Kent State in recent years, put a scare into the Golden Flashes, the top team in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Mario Jordan (Cleveland, OH/Benedictine) led the Bulls with 21 points - one point shy of his career high. Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central) notched his fourth double-double in the last six games with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Kent State (17-3, 11-1) jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Bulls weathered the storm and tied the contest, 11-11, with 14:05 left in the half. A layup by Jordan at the 12:06 mark gave the Bulls a brief two-point lead. The Golden Flashes answered with a 6-0 run to recapture a 19-15 advantage. Kent State held the lead for the rest of the half and went into the lockerroom at halftime with a 41-33 lead.

Trailing by nine points early in the second half, the Bulls battled back and sliced the lead to 48-47 following a three-pointer by Jason Bird (Ypsilanti, MI/Ypsilanti). However, Kent State scored seven unanswered points to quickly regain an eight-point edge. Trailing, 65-61, Calvin Cage (Capital Heights, MD/Bladensburg) nailed a trey that cut the Kent State advantage to one point. DeAndre Haynes answered with a triple of his own to extend the Golden Flashes' lead to 68-64. On the ensuing possession, the Bulls ran a back-door play that resulted in a dunk by Jordan that cut the lead to two points. On the next Kent State possession, Daniel Gilbert (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) intercepted a pass, dribbled the length of the floor and threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk to tie the game, 68-68, with 4:17 left in the game. However, a veteran Kent State squad scored six unanswered points and forced the Bulls to turn the ball over down the stretch to hold on for the four-point victory.

Buffalo (9-11, 5-7) dominated Kent State on the glass, outrebounding the Golden Flashes, 38-20. The Bulls raked in 17 offensive boards and scored 16 second chance points compared to only four by Kent State.

The Bulls struggled to stop Kent State's seven-foot center John Edwards who scored 24 points and had six blocked shots. Haynes and Matt Jakeway scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Golden Flashes.

Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) finished with nine points, six rebounds, eight assists and only one turnover. Bird had eight points, including 2-for-3 shooting from beyond the arc.

"It was a typical MAC heavyweight fight," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "The difference in the game was John Edwards and our turnovers. Kent State's seniors provided the necessary leadership."