While most college students traveled home to stuff their faces with turkey over the break, UB men's basketball stuffed the basket in the Las Vegas Holiday Invitational, falling to nationally ranked Boston College but pulling out two stellar wins.
After trouncing Buffalo State in the first game of the invitational, the Bulls traveled to No. 10 Boston College where they lost 92-63.
UB took a 6-4 lead and was competitive at times, but the game was decided early when Boston College then went on a 12-0 run. Ultimately, it was turnovers and foul trouble that finished off the Bulls, as many of the starters were relegated to the bench in the first half.
The senior duo of Roderick Middleton and Calvin Cage were unable to contribute in Boston, combining for only nine points while giving up five turnovers.
The frontcourt combo of juniors Yassin Idbihi and Parnell Smith combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds, with Idbihi adding a double-double on his way to earning Mid-American Conference East Player of the Week.
Head coach Reggie Witherspoon said he hoped the game would be a learning experience.
"We don't want our opponent to dictate our effort and our energy, and that's the main thing that we focused on immediately after that game," Witherspoon said. "We have to fight hard for 40 minutes, and then deal with whatever happens after that. We had some spurts where we fought hard in the second half, but I don't think we had enough passion and determination in the first half."
After the tough loss, the Bulls traveled to Las Vegas to continue the Holiday Invitational with a 71-65 win over Jackson State.
At first, it seemed the Bulls were still in a daze from three nights before. Jackson State (1-3 overall) took a four-point lead into halftime and then stretched it into as much as 10 before the Bulls arose from their slumber to wipe away the deficit with a 16-0 run.
Idbihi and Smith led the Bulls again, combining for 37 points and 10 rebounds. Calvin Cage also was back to form, playing the entire game and contributing 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.
A noticeable difference in strategy after the Boston College loss was the way Witherspoon used his bench. Instead of relying on bench-help, as he has been famous for in past years, Witherspoon kept a fairly small rotation while limiting the minutes given to many of the freshman players.
"We did kind of narrow down our lineup and the minutes that we gave to some of the younger guys," Witherspoon said. "We didn't give some of them extended minutes. We just gave them an opportunity to contribute and I thought the guys who played were able to contribute."
The fourth game of the tournament came against the University of Detroit. After the first half finished in a deadlock at 26, the Bulls controlled play in the second half. Detroit (2-3 overall) kept fighting, getting as close as 62-60 with 90 seconds left, but the Bulls came away with a 66-60 win, improving their record to 4-1.
Team captain Middleton, who had been held scoreless in the previous game against Jackson State, rained on Detroit's parade, scoring all of his career-high 22 points in the second half. Middleton shot 4-6 from the land of three and gave his team a third scoring option.
Cage picked up where he left off last against Jackson State. Distributing the ball as well as scoring, Cage finished the night with 14 points and six assists while again playing all 40 minutes.
After a rocky start to the season where he could not stay on the court due to ineffectiveness and foul trouble, Idbihi was dominant in the paint for the third straight game, scoring 16 points to go along with seven boards.
"We all understand that he is very talented, and we understand that he still has some improving to do," Witherspoon said about the 6-foot-10 forward. "There aren't a lot of guys out there who can do the things that he does."
After three consecutive games on the road, UB comes home on Wednesday to play Fresno State at Alumni Arena. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.
