Raining bricks at Kent State

Coming off an emotional win against Ohio, the Buffalo Bulls headed to Kent State on Sunday and couldn't match the energy with which the Golden Flashes welcomed them.

After shooting 66.7 percent from the field against the Bobcats, the second highest in school history, the Bulls crashed down to Earth, shooting a season-low 34 percent from the field in a 70-52 loss to the Golden Flashes.

"We have to be willing to work harder the next game just to get the same success," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "Today, our response to their intensity level was just not good enough."

Whatever momentum the Bulls had from their win Thursday night, Kent immediately grabbed and did not relinquish, as the Golden Flashes started the game on a 25-7 run.

Buffalo, which has never won at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in eight attempts, came no closer to the lead than 11 points in the first half. The Golden Flashes made a late push for a 15-point halftime lead.

The Bulls have managed six second-half comeback victories on the season but Kent State (15-5, 8-1 Mid-American Conference) did not allow one. Instead, they pushed the lead up to as many as 23 points before claiming an 18-point victory.

Witherspoon was not pleased with the team's performance or their lack of intensity from the outset.

"When things didn't go well early, we just didn't respond," Witherspoon said. "We turned it over far too many times, and we forced them to only 12 turnovers in the game. We had a lot of available offensive rebounds and we got a grand total of seven, one in the first half."

Junior center Yassin Idbihi led the team in rebounds and points, with seven boards and 16 points. Kent State's senior forward Kevin Warzynski led all scorers with 19 points.

Buffalo's main point scorer, Calvin Cage, entered the game averaging 42.1 percent from the field with a team-high 18.2 points a game but the senior guard's ammunition was low Sunday afternoon, as he sank just 23.5 percent of his shots (4-of-17) for 11 points on the day.

Cage's long-range shot was also off, as he hit just 1-of-5 from three-point land. His season average from beyond the arc is 44.3 percent.

The Bulls struggled as a team from the three-point range, shooting a measly 25 percent in contrast to its MAC-best average of 38 percent.

In addition to their shooting woes, the Bulls (14-5, 5-4 MAC) also struggled defending the three-point line in the early part of the game, as the Golden Flashes started 4-4 from behind the arc.

Midway through the second half, Witherspoon had senior guards Cage and Roderick Middleton take a seat on the bench due to what he says was a lack of production and fatigue.

"If we are going to get the kind of effort that we got, we might as well play the younger guys and let them get the experience," Witherspoon said. "They made some mistakes but they played hard so we have to take this as an opportunity to get better."

The seniors were replaced by the freshman backcourt combination of Sean Smiley and Eric Moore, who ended the game scoreless.

Though inexperienced, the entrance of the freshman duo provided a small spark, leading to a 10-0 run and bringing the Kent State lead down to 13. This was as close as the Bulls got, as the Golden Flashes quickly rattled off their own a 6-0 run, pushing the lead to back to 19 to solidify their dominate victory.

As the team gets deeper into MAC play, Witherspoon said the Bulls must begin to play a full 40 minutes of good basketball if they expect to win.

"It's really difficult on the road," Witherspoon said. "You can't dig a hole for yourself, jump in and think you are going to get out and stand up and fight to win."

The Bulls will hit the court next on Wednesday at Akron (15-4, 8-1 MAC). With a win in overtime against Bowling Green on Sunday, the Zips are now tied with Kent State for first place in the MAC.

The game will be the third meeting between the Middleton brothers on the hardwood as Roderick suits up for Buffalo and younger brother Cedrick for Akron. Last season, the teams split the season series at one apiece. This season's first match-up will begin at 7 p.m.