After the game looked to be finished, Buffalo senior forward Yassin Idbihi was granted a second chance at the free throw line with six-tenths of a second left on the clock.
With his team down 77-75 to Bowling Green after a lengthy delay, Idbihi drained both shots to send the game into overtime.
"I was pretty nervous to be there," Idbihi said. "I thought about my dad back home who listens to every game at three in the morning. I was like, 'You can't miss these free throws. You can't miss these free throws.'"
The Bulls (11-14, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) failed in their first opportunity to tie the game, when they were called for a shot clock violation as the game clock expired. Fortunately for the Bulls, there was miscommunication between the referees and Bowling Green head coach Dan Dakich. Dakich believed he saw the referee signal the end of the game when, in reality, the last play was under review.
Dakich and the Falcons (11-14, 2-10 MAC) immediately rushed off the court following what Dakich believed was the end of the game, and were called for a technical foul for delay of game.
"The shot goes off. The buzzer goes off. I don't know if someone's touched the ball. I knew there was a time differential," a frustrated Dakich said. "I'm standing there. I don't even realize we won the game. We see Kenny Turner, the referee, and I'm standing there and I'm looking, 'Is it over? Is it over?' And he's like, 'It's over.' He runs off the court like he's running back with me... the whole team saw the same damn thing so what are you supposed to do?"
After Idbihi's free throws, the Bulls grabbed momentum in overtime, starting the extra period off on a 6-1 run. The Bulls carried this momentum to an eight-point victory.
"They absolutely f*cking cheated us. Not Reggie, not Buffalo but those three (referees)," Dakich screamed. "This game got taken away by egos and that's just awful. "
The Falcons were already in the visiting locker room showering when they were informed to return to the court. According to head coach Dan Dakich, he even had a player play the overtime without socks.
Idbihi, who finished the game with 28 points and 20 rebounds, which were both career-highs, led the Bulls. Sophomore guard Eric Moore pitched in with 24 points in 36 minutes, after being shut out on the scoreboard and playing only eight minutes in the Bulls' last game. Moore also had a team-high three steals. Senior forward Parnell Smith also had double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"I said to our guys in the locker room, 'We've been in some bizarre things and happened to be at the wrong end.' So it's good to be on this side of an unusual ending," said Bulls' head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "It kind-of overshadows the fact that we had 65 rebounds but we had to go get them and the fact that we had only 13 turnovers."
Falcons guard Ryne Hamblet scored 24 points in the losing effort. The Bulls also held guard Martin Samarco to 17 points after he put up 43 in their last meeting on Jan. 7.
Ironically, that game at Bowling Green also came down to the wire and ended with Samarco winning the game with a buzzer-beating three pointer.
"I honestly feel bad and frustrated from their standpoint," Witherspoon said. "But I'm not giving it back to them because they didn't give it back to us."
The Bulls next tip off at home against Detroit on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in an ESPN Bracket Buster game.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
