Late in the first half it looked as if the Bulls would get their first ever win at Ohio University's Convocation Center, as the men's basketball team was up nine with just over three minutes left in the first half. Ohio, however, ended the half on an 11-2 run to go into the locker room tied at 24.
"Ohio did some good things but it's what we did psychologically-wise," said Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We were very hesitant. We were not mentally prepared to dominate teams. When you're not mentally prepared to dominate, then you're preparing yourself to be dominated."
In their first eight games at the Convocation Center, the Bulls, who are 3-18 all time against Ohio, had never lost by more then 10 points. That changed on Thursday night when the Bobcats dominated the second half beating Buffalo, 67-51.
Senior forward Yassin Idbihi and sophomore guard Eric Moore kept the Bulls (9-8, 1-3 MAC) in the game in the first half, as the two combined for 15 of Buffalo's first 20 points. Idbihi scored the Bulls first five points in the game, which vaulted him to 10th overall on Buffalo's all-time scoring list. Both were shut down in the second half. Moore scored all eight of his points in the first half, while Idbihi scored only four of his 11 points in the second half.
Ohio (12-5, 3-1 MAC) came into the game first in the Mid-American Conference in scoring and in the top 15 in the nation in points, yet the Bulls kept the Bobcats to their second lowest first half total of the season. The Bulls held the Bobcats scoreless for a seven minute stretch at one point during the first 20 minutes.
"We went into the half tied at 24, but they had seven points the first 13 minutes of the game, which means they were having problems," Witherspoon said. "We were very hesitant. When you give up seven points in first 13 minutes even if you're not shooting well, that should render you a lead that you don't succumb in the last seven minutes of the half."
Sophomore guard Andy Robinson scored the Bulls first eight points of the second half, scoring all 10 of his points in the final 20 minutes of play. Senior guard Darwin Young had a career-high three three-pointers on the night, scoring all of his nine points from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Greg Gamble led the team with eight rebounds, while Idbihi chipped in with six.
One problem for the young Bulls this season, which reared its ugly head again against the Bobcats, was turnovers. Buffalo has averaged 19.8 turnovers per game for the season, and turned the ball over 22 times against Ohio. To go along with the turnovers, the Bulls shot poorly from the field, making only 34 percent of their shots.
"We were getting pretty good shots. We missed several point blank shots where we were looking for contact," Witherspoon said. "(Ohio) was getting out of the way to prevent fouls. You don't want to miss those."
All 67 of the Bobcats points were scored by their starting five. Junior forward Leon Williams recorded his 22nd career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Jerome Tillman and Whitney Davis tied for the game-high in points, each scoring 15.
Tillman chipped in with six rebounds. Bubba Walther and Sonny Troutman rounded out the Ohio's scoring with 14 and 10 respectively.
The Bulls next will travel to Akron to take on the Zips, who are 12-4 and 3-1 in the MAC. The game will be played on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
