Sloppy is the only way to describe the events of Wednesday night's basketball game at Alumni Arena.
The Toledo Rockets and the Buffalo Bulls combined for 46 turnovers and 63 free throw attempts. However, the Rockets were the sole beneficiaries of such nonchalant play.
Buffalo fell to Toledo, 78-62, as the Bulls set season-high 32 turnovers in the game, 19 of which came in the first half. The Bulls' previous high was the 26 turnovers the committed Jan. 10 against Kent State.
Coming into the game, Buffalo (9-10, 1-5 Mid-American Conference) led the MAC in turnovers committed per game with 19.9, while Toledo (10-8, 6-0) is the leader of the MAC in terms of forcing turnovers, causing 18.7 per game.
"We knew coming in that they were very strong in what were very weak at," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "Quickness, experience, aggressiveness in the backcourt. They took us out of our mindset."
The loss drops the Bulls under .500, at 9-10, for the first time this season and puts the team at just 1-5 in Mid-American Conference play.
Buffalo was led by senior forward Yassin Idbihi's 14 points and 12 rebounds. Despite his solid effort, Idbihi knows he and his teammates must play with more intensity and take better care of the ball in order to be successful.
"Our energy did not match Toledo's energy," Idbihi said. "They out hustled us, out energized us. We have to find a way to correct this."
Sophomore guard Andy Robinson led the team in scoring with 15 points, eight of which came in the first five minutes of the game, which helped the Bulls jump out to an early 10 point lead.
Toledo would counter with an 11-2 run to get within a point of the Bulls midway through the first half.
Strong defense would continue from Toledo as it took a 29-27 lead into the half, despite not playing well on the offensive end. The Bulls held Toledo to 37 percent shooting in the first half, causing 11 turnovers. Though the Rockets were simply warming up.
In the second half, the Bulls briefly regained the lead, when they went ahead 39-38 with just over 15 minutes left in the first half. Yet a 6-0 run by the Rockets gave them the advantage, which they would not give up the rest of the game. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Buffalo pulled within two points of the Rockets following two Idbihi free throws.
That was the closest Buffalo would get to Toledo, as the Rockets outscored the Bulls 17-6 over the next seven minutes of the game to open a 66-53 lead and eventually to a 16-point victory.
Toledo finished the game shooting 49 percent thanks in part to shooting 14-21 in the second half. In addition, Toledo finished 27-36 from the free throw line in the game, 21-31 in the second half.
Rocket guards pestered the Bulls all night, causing sophomore guards Eric Moore and Greg Gamble to combine for 13 turnovers and just 12 points.
"When they stopped trapping and just playing man-to-man, we had to dribble the ball and that's when the problem started," Witherspoon said.
Toledo's stars carried the way for the team as guard Justin Ingram led the Rockets with 19 points and five steals. Forward Florentino Valencia shot 10-11 from the free throw line and 4-6 from the field to finish with 18 points. The win keeps Toledo in first-place in the MAC Western division and they are the only unbeaten team in conference play.
One of the lone bright spots for the Bulls came in freshman forward Max Boudreau. The native of Montreal, Quebec, Canada set a career-high for points with 11 to go along with six rebounds.
"It's exciting to see a freshman exhibit some skills," Witherspoon said. "It was good to see him aggressive."
Overall, the Bulls were able to out rebound the Rockets, 40-18. However, any inside success Buffalo found was negated by Toledo's up-tempo style. The Rockets finished with 38 points off turnovers compared to 16 by the Bulls and 14 fast break points to the Bulls zero.
Asked if he could recall such a nightmarish event previous to Wednesday night, Witherspoon could only respond, "No, and I hope I don't recall it in the middle of the night."
Buffalo hopes to improve its play in the MAC as they travel to Eastern Michigan this Sunday for a 7 p.m. contest.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
