Bracket busted

With their ship heading dangerously off course, the Bulls stepped out of the Mid-American Conference with the hopes of redirecting their season. Iona, however, was unsympathetic to Buffalo's woes.

Doomed by poor shooting and an even worse defensive effort, the men's basketball team fell to Iona 93-75 Saturday afternoon at the Hynes Center in New Rochelle, N.Y.

For the third straight game, Buffalo started with its younger lineup of sophomore forward Andrew Atman, junior forward Yassin Idbihi, and freshmen guards Sean Smiley, Andy Robinson and Eric Moore.

The young group managed to keep the game close until the usual starters, senior forward Mario Jordan, junior guard Darwin Young, junior forward Parnell Smith, and senior guards Calvin Cage and Roderick Middleton, checked in at the 17:01 mark of the first half.

Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon has used the move in hopes to provide an early game spark for the struggling Bulls. However, Buffalo (16-10, 6-8 MAC) has seen limited success with the strategy as it has lost two of the last three games.

"It wasn't who was played, it was how we were playing," Witherspoon said. "We didn't play hard enough. We didn't have enough energy to play hard enough."

Last weekend proved to be no different. Cage failed to hit the rim on his first two shots and missed his first five shots from the field. Defensively, the Bulls found it difficult to stay with the hot-shooting Gaels, who shot a blistering 61.5 percent from the field, including 5-of-10 from three-point land.

The Bulls were the polar opposite of their competition. The team shot only 31.4 percent from the field and a paltry 56.3 percent from the foul line.

"Anytime we go 9-of-16 from the free-throw line in the first half, that pretty much sums it up," Witherspoon said. "We just didn't have it."

With Iona (20-5) leading 31-21, Moore reeled off five straight points to cut the lead in half. However, the Gaels quickly regained their double-digit lead with three quick baskets and headed into the break leading 45-34.

The Bulls opened the second frame trading points with the Gaels until Iona distanced itself from Buffalo with an 8-0 run. Witherspoon then attempted to ignite Buffalo's stagnant offense by turning to younger players Moore, Smiley and Atman. The replacements did no better. Iona reeled off a 13-2 run before the elders returned to action.

By that point, it was too late. Iona guard Marvin McCullough's layup made it a 20-point game.

The Bulls shot only 35.7 percent from the field for the game, including a dreadful 21.7 percent from beyond the arc. Iona, on the other hand, finished the game shooting 63.3 percent and shot better in the second half than the first, making 65.2 percent of its attempts.

Idbihi led the Bulls in scoring with 13 points and was the only Buffalo player in double digits. The junior from Morocco also tied Middleton and senior Iona forward Kiril Wachsmann for a game-high seven rebounds.

The Gaels posted five scorers in double figures and were led by senior guard Steve Burtt with 27 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including five three-point baskets.

"He hit a lot of tough shots," Witherspoon said. "He got in a rhythm and he started to shoot the ball well. We couldn't seem to stop him."

The loss has no impact on the team's standing in the MAC, but adds another loss to a season record that has begun a sharp downward trend since the New Year. Buffalo has now lost six of its last seven games and seems stuck in rut.

"We gotta regroup and get ready for the next game," Witherspoon said. "We've got to go away and come back to practice on Monday and get ready for Ohio on Wednesday."

Next up for the Bulls is a trip to Athens, Ohio on Wednesday for a visit to the defending MAC champion Ohio Bobcats (15-8, 8-6 MAC). The last time the two met, the Bulls trampled the Bobcats 70-51 in a rematch of last year's conference championship game, which Buffalo lost.

The game is slated for 7 p.m.