Bulls Fall Just Short in Upset Bid of #2 Pittsburgh

Bulls lead by as many as 11 points but fall in the end, 70-67

Yassin Idbihi

BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo went toe-to-toe with the number two team in the nation, but fell just short in its upset bid as Pittsburgh escaped a sold-out Alumni Arena with a 70-67 win on Saturday. Yassin Idbihi (Tangier, Morocco/Schloss Hagerhof) led four UB players in double-figures with 18 points and added 10 rebounds. It was the senior forward's fourth double-double of the season and his third in the last four games.

Buffalo (6-4) was up for the challenge from the start as it came out firing in the first half. The Bulls shot a sizzling 56.7 percent in the first stanza. After Pitt scored the opening basket, the Bulls scored seven straight points to take a 7-2 lead. A three-pointer by Eric Moore (Dover, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep) gave the Bulls a 21-10 lead with 11:46 left in the half. The Bulls would hold the 11-point lead with 5:43 remaining in the half and owned a seven-point advantage at the break.

A lay-up by Greg Gamble (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) put the Bulls up, 53-43, with 14:09 left. However, the Panthers went on a 9-0 scoring run to close to within one with 9:24 remaining. A steal and lay-up by Levance Fields gave Pittsburgh its first lead since the opening minutes, 59-58, with 5:17 left. The Bulls responded with an Idbihi jumper to go back ahead, 60-59. However, that would the last lead the Bulls would hold as a pair of Levon Kendall free throws gave the Panthers the lead for good, 61-60.

The Bulls hung around and had an opportunity to tie the contest late, but a three-point attempt by Idbihi rimmed out with six seconds remaining. Parnell Smith (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) grabbed the rebound and scored to cut the lead to one with 1.7 seconds on the clock. Pittsburgh scored on a lay-up at the buzzer for the three-point win. The Panthers' three-point advantage was their largest lead of the game.

"Our guys fought really hard, and one of the encouraging things for our guys was that when Pitt came back and took the lead, our guys came with the mind set of winning," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "It was a good experience for us and the next time we'll have to find a way to get better."

Eric Moore

Smith finished the game with 15 points and eight rebounds. Moore had 14 points, including four three-pointers. Andy Robinson (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) added 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Each team pulled down 33 rebounds. Buffalo was relentless on the offensive glass as the Bulls pulled down 15 offensive boards and scored 17 second chance points compared to just six for the Panthers.

Pittsburgh (10-0) was led by All-America candidate Aaron Gray who finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

The difference in the game may have come at the free throw line as the Panthers shot 16-of-23 from the charity stripe, while the Bulls only went to the line 11 times and made eight.

The Bulls finished with a season-low eight turnovers, including only one in the first half.

The 6,350 fans that packed Alumni Arena was the third largest crowd in school history and the largest crowd since the arena was reconfigured in 2004.

12/09/2006