The past and future certainly look better then the present for the men's basketball team.
Playing its third road contest in four games, Buffalo surrendered its most points of the season as they lost to Eastern Michigan 89-76, on Sunday evening. The Bulls have now lost four games in a row, having lost by double-digits in all but one game, a 66-59 loss at Akron.
Buffalo's inability to stop Eastern Michigan for long stretches was a major factor in the loss. The Eagles went on runs of 11-0 and 9-2 in the second half to distance themselves from the Bulls.
"Well I think at the end of the first half is where it started," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "You can't afford to slip up that way anywhere but especially on the road. Then we just didn't put up the same effort and kind of let the cat get out of the bag. Once it got out, it couldn't get back in."
Buffalo (9-11,1-6 Mid-American Conference) kept the game close early on. The first half featured six ties and six lead changes as sophomore guard Eric Moore scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the first half. However, Eastern Michigan (8-12, 3-4 MAC) entered the half still leading by two, 37-35.
Out of the gate in the second half, the Eagles lengthened their lead to 13. Over the first 3:52 of the second half, Eastern Michigan went on their first run and scored 11 unanswered points to extend the Bulls' deficit to 48-35. During the same stretch, the Bulls committed eight personal fouls.
Moore again kept the Bulls in the game as he hit back-to-back three-pointers and lowered the lead to seven at the 15:18 mark of the second half. Less than a minute later, senior forward Yassin Idbihi made two free throws to bring the Bulls within six. It was the closest Buffalo would come for the rest of the game.
Any comeback attempt the Bulls mounted in the second half was spoiled by an inability to stop the three-point shot. Eastern Michigan made six three-pointers over the final 14 minutes and finished the game 11 of 23 from three-point territory.
The Eagles were led by Carlos Medlock's game-high 26 points but as a whole Eastern Michigan shot the ball extremely well, especially in the second half. The Eagles shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half and 52.7 percent for the game. Four Eagles finished the game in double figures.
The Bulls finished with three players in double figures. Idbihi and freshman forward Max Boudreau each scored 11, but shot a combined five for 17 from the field. The Bulls as a team shot 47.2 percent.
For the second straight game, Buffalo went into halftime down a pair and ended up losing the game by double digits thanks to a big run by the other team in the second half.
"You know it's funny," Witherspoon said, "because earlier in the year I was asked what seems to be happen when we play so well during the second half and I said I don't think there's a whole lot of science to it and there still isn't. Earlier in the year we were playing better in the second half and in the last two outings we haven't come out and played with the proper level of excitement and enthusiasm and more than anything energy. I just think it's a concentration thing."
Boudreau started for the third time in as many games as the Bulls have been playing younger as the season goes on. Witherspoon believed youth can affect a team's play in the second half.
"We were playing with a little more experience earlier in the year," Witherspoon said. "Things like half-time interruptions are not as big for an experienced team. But when you're playing with a little more youth then you do have troubles. Any interruption is big for less-experienced guys."
The Bulls have now lost six of their last seven and are 3-7 since falling in the closing minutes to Pittsburgh.
"I think they're handling (the losing) okay," Witherspoon said. "We're going to get up and go to practice the next day. I'm sure they're itching to have more success than we're having but I don't think they're internalizing it."
Buffalo will play at Western Michigan Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
