Struggles to find consistency

Being a young team is starting to catch up with the men's basketball squad. In five games that were played over winter break, the Bulls went 1-4, including two losses to open Mid-American Conference (MAC) play

On Dec. 21, after a 16-day layoff, the Bulls battled the Wyoming (6-8) in the first game of the Sun Bowl Classic in Texas. Buffalo held the lead for the majority of the game, but blew a 12-point lead late in the contest to lose 66-63.

Buffalo played one of its best games defensively against the Cowboys. The Bulls tallied ten steals, seven blocked shots, and forced Wyoming into 27 turnovers. Buffalo scored 29 points off of turnovers. However, Wyoming shot 41 percent from the field, while the Bulls made only 31 percent of their attempts.

The Bulls led 53-39 with 11:43 remaining in the game, but lost their offensive touch shooting the ball. Wyoming outscored Buffalo 17-2 and took the lead with 4:16 left.

Buffalo had a chance to tie the game with 11 seconds left trailing by three points. Sophomore guards Sean Smiley and Byron Mulkey both were able to get off shots from behind the arc, but neither were able to hit the shot.

The next night, the Bulls faced University of South Carolina (USC) Upstate in the consolation game of the Classic. Junior forward Brian Addison helped give Buffalo a 43-34 lead at halftime by pulling down an offensive rebound and putting in a jumper as time expired. Addison finished the game with six points, seven rebounds, two blocks and one assist in 13 minutes.

In the second half, the Spartans (3-14) pulled within six points, but sophomore guard Rodney Pierce was an offensive force down the stretch. Pierce scored nine of 11 points for the Bulls to hold off USC Upstate and win the game 80-66.

"In the second half, the guys played with a little bit more poise in situations," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We shot the ball better in the game, and this is what happens in the games that we win. We are learning to do other things than just shoot the basketball like passing it better, moving without the ball, getting loose balls, defending, communicating, body language. These are things that are huge for a young team that they probably never have thought about."

On Dec. 29, Buffalo traveled to UNC Asheville where they played their first overtime game. The Bulls did not fare too well in the extra frame and went on to lose the game 101-90.

Buffalo had double-digit leads in the first and second half. With 8:21 left in the game, Betts hit one of his five field goals in the second half to put the Bulls up by 14. Betts scored all 16 of his points in the second half and overtime and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Everything was looking good for a victory throughout the game, but the Bulldogs (12-4) held a 49-9 free throw shot advantage that allowed them to stay in the game. They cut into the Buffalo lead slowly and were able to tie the game at 80 with 42 seconds left and force overtime.

It was all Bulldogs in overtime, as they dominated Buffalo by having a 21-10 edge in scoring. Kenny George scored the first basket of the extra session, and finished the game 21 points. The center also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked six shots.

"It was extremely hard for us to defend him," Witherspoon said. "He might be the biggest person I've ever seen in my life and he's talented. It was a big challenge for us, but we also gave them too many free throws."

On Jan. 6, the Bulls began MAC play at Kent State, where they have never won. This day was no different, as Buffalo fell to the Golden Flashes 68-63.

Junior guard Andy Robinson helped the Bulls get ahead early in the game. He scored 22 of his career-high 25 points in the first half to give Buffalo a 35-27 lead at halftime.

Sophomore forward Max Boudreau hit a lay-up to put the Bulls ahead 56-55 with 2:36 left in the game. However, Kent State (13-3, 2-0 MAC) hit a three-pointer on their next possession and also hit 10 straight free throws to solidify the victory.

"Kent State is always a difficult road game," Witherspoon said. "Our guys played them hard and it came down to the last few minutes of the game. We have to be able to make decisions in a split second, instinctively in those moments and hopefully as we gain experience, we will be able to do this."

The road has not been kind to the Bulls this season. With one win in the four games over break, the team now only has two victories away from Alumni Arena.

"We have gotten better on the road," Witherspoon said. "Sometimes there is a lack of intensity and focus and we need to keep it up for a full 40 minutes. We have gotten better at this, but obviously not enough to overcome some of the opponents that we had."

The Bulls returned to play at home for the first time in 42 days on Saturday against MAC East foe the Akron Zips (12-3, 2-0 MAC).

While being down for most of the night, Buffalo made things interesting down the stretch of this game. Down by 11 points with 7:12 left in the game, the Bulls went on a 12-4 scoring run to climb within three points. Junior forward Greg Gamble hit an acrobatic lay-up with 3:32, but the Bulls would not get any closer and lost the game 76-68.

Even though Buffalo shot 42 percent from the field compared to 40 for the Zips, Akron had an overwhelming advantage from the free-throw line, connecting on 28 of 31. The Bulls were only 5 of 9 shooting at the line.

"We are getting progressively better, but we struggled on Saturday night," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We have faced some really good competition in the past five games. We are taking baby steps right now."

The Bulls will be back on the road for two more MAC games this week. On Thursday, Buffalo will face Bowling Green at 7 p.m. and on Sunday, they will take on Miami (OH) with tip-off at 2 p.m.