Bulls Fall in Overtime at Kent State, 77-71

UB comes up just short in bid to win first game at M.A.C. Center

Mitchell Watt

KENT, OH - Less than a week after winning for the first time at Ohio's Convocation Center, the University at Buffalo men's basketball team came up just short in earning its first ever win at Kent State, falling in overtime to the Golden Flashes, 77-71, on Thursday night.

After trailing for much of the game, back-to-back offensive putbacks by Andy Robinson put the Bulls ahead, 66-62, with four minutes left in regulation. A free throw by Greg Gamble gave the Bulls a 67-65 advantage with 1:27 left. Kent State's Chris Singletary tied the game with a pair of free throws with 16 seconds remaining. Rodney Pierce had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but his three-point attempt was off the mark.

Buffalo (18-10, 10-5 MAC), which had five players foul out all season, lost the services of Calvin Betts, Max Boudreau and Mitchell Watt to fouls, making the Bulls undermanned in overtime. Kent State (17-13, 9-6 MAC) took advantage and outscored the Bulls, 10-4, in the extra session.

The Golden Flashes jumped on the Bulls early in the contest, taking a 36-22 lead with 4:04 left in the first half. But UB responded, ending the half on a 9-0 scoring run to cut the lead to 36-31 at the break. Early on, the Bulls got a spark from Watt who scored nine of his 10 points in the first half, including a tip-in at the first half buzzer.

Watt was one of four UB players who scored in double-figures. Gamble had 17 points to go along with six rebounds and six assists. Pierce added 16 points and Andy Robinson scored 14 points and added a season-high eight rebounds.

Both Titus Robinson and Betts also grabbed eight of the Bullsâ 47 rebounds. UB had 21 offensive rebounds and scored 23 second-chance points.

A major difference in the game was free throw shooting. The Bulls shot 14-of-27 from the free throw line while Kent State went 26-of-34 from the charity stripe.

Buffalo will close out the regular season against Miami (OH) at Alumni Arena on Sunday at 2 pm. A win over the RedHawks on Sunday would assure the Bulls a first-round bye in the next weekâs MAC Tournament.