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TAMPA, FL - In the first round of the University of South Florida Shootout, the Buffalo Bulls literally turned over their first round game to Eastern Illinois, losing 73-66. UB committed 26 turnovers on the night, 14 coming in the first half when the Bulls fell behind by eight points by the break and could not overcome that deficit in the second half.

The Panthers (7-3) jumped out quickly to start the game, hitting three-pointers for their first four baskets of the game, two of those coming from guard Matt Britton. The Bulls (1-5) stayed even, and a layup by O'Tes Alston (Lackawanna, NY/Lackawanna) tied the game at 9-9 at the 14:14 mark. EIU then went on a 7-0 run and increased their lead to eight points, 22-14, with 8:37 left in the half. Buffalo would then score nine-straight points, capped off by another bucket from Alston to take a 23-22 lead with 5:37 left in the first half. The lead would go back and forth six times over the next two minutes before the Panthers took the lead for good on a three-pointer from Henry Domercant, giving EIU a 30-28 advantage. EIU closed the half with an 11-2 run and took a 38-30 lead into halftime.

UB got down by as many as 12 points early on in the second half, 54-42, with 13:04 to play, before making a comeback. The Bulls would go on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to six, but the Panthers slowly got the lead back up to ten points, 60-50, by the nine minute mark. The Bulls made another charge, scoring nine-straight points to cut the lead to just one by the 6:38 mark at 60-59. During the run, Robert Brown (Oak Park, MI/Oak Park) hit three free throws, Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) hit a three-pointer and Jason Robinson (Seattle, WA/Curtis) had a layup and a free throw for all nine UB points.

After cutting the lead back down to one, however, UB could not get over the hump and take the second half lead. On the next possession, UB committed a turnover as Brown lost the ball on the baseline, and EIU responded with a layup from Ryan Kelly to push the lead back to three. UB then had a couple more chances, missing a 15-foot jumper and then having a three-point attempt by Robinson rattle in-and-out, before EIU finished off a 7-0 run over a five minute span. With the lead at three, Kyle Hill hit a three-pointer and later converted two free throws to give the Panthers a 67-59 lead with 2:20 to play. Neither team would score over the next minute and a half until Brown hit two free throws for UB at the 0:57 mark, the Bulls' first points since the 6:38 mark. UB made a strong comeback in the end, but EIU hit 6-of-8 free throws in the last minute to secure the 73-67 win.

"We turned the ball over 26 times tonight, and you can't beat many teams doing that," said UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "Many of those were unforced turnovers and that's what makes it disappointing. The energy level of their perimeter players was much higher than our perimeter players as well and that hurt us. I think this is somewhat of a step back for us, but we won't know how much until the game tomorrow night."

Jason Robinson led UB with 17 points and six rebounds and Damien Foster (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) had 13 points, 12 of those coming in the first half, and grabbed a season-high seven rebounds. O'Tes Alston scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds, both career highs, while playing solid minutes off the bench for UB.

The Bulls fell to 1-5 on the season and will face Alcorn State in the consulation game of the USF Shootout on Friday night with tipoff scheduled for 7 pm. The host school, South Florida, defeated Alcorn State in Thursday's first game and USF will take on Eastern Illinois in the championship game at 9pm.