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Bulls Fall to Hot-Shooting Florida International, 76-63

Byron Mulkey

Florida International shot 58.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent from the beyond the arc. Conversely, UB shot 36.5 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from three-point range. The Bulls especially struggled at the free throw line, making only 11-of-24 attempts.

Despite UB’s shooting struggles, the Bulls were in the game for most of the night. Buffalo trailed, 32-29, at the half. An Andy Robinson (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) steal and breakaway dunk gave the Bulls a 35-34 lead. However, the Golden Panthers built a 50-43 advantage with 11:26 left. A Byron Mulkey (Wheatfield, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield) steal and layup followed by a Robinson trey cut the lead back down to two.

A three-pointer by Andrew Atman (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) sliced the FIU lead to one with 6:21 remaining. But a 10-3 run by the Golden Panthers gave them a 64-56 lead with 3:19 left and put the game on ice.

Buffalo (5-4) was led by Mulkey who scored a season-high 10 points. Greg Gamble (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) added nine points and had four of the Bulls’ nine steals. Atman and Max Boudreau (Montreal, Quebec/Champlain St. Lambert) each notched eight points.

One bright spot for the Bulls was that they had a season-low 12 turnovers. It was their best effort since the Detroit game last season when they had 11. Florida International (3-3) was led by Kenneth White who scored 19 points and Erick Nsangou who added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

“We got a lot of point-blank layups and couldn’t convert,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “We had a total breakdown in concentration and it’s a mental thing that we are going through and it is painful.”

Buffalo is now off until December 21 when it plays Wyoming in the opening game of the State Farm Classic in El Paso, TX.