Tuesday night was another bulletin in a long list of disappointments in Buffalo's forgettable men's basketball season. Coming off two sobering losses, Buffalo was looking to knock off the number one team in the Mid-American Conference. Yet the Kent State Golden Flashes proved that their 22-5 record was no fluke against a Buffalo team that has only two conference wins this season.
"I think Kent State played a very good game, I think they started the game off with a sense of urgency which we got hit in the mouth with. Our guys need to learn from that," said Bulls head coach Reggie Witherspoon.
Buffalo (8-17, 2-11 MAC) kept the game close early on. Four minutes in, with a the Flashes up 12-6, Kent State turned the defensive pressure, and soon saw their six point lead balloon to as much as 18. With just over six minutes left in the half, the score was 34-16.
"They came out more confident, and they came out knowing that they're the number one team in the MAC, and they know that we lost some games," said junior forward Greg Gamble. "They figured that we'd just lay down, and we laid down...we didn't come out wanting to knock the number one team off, we came out hoping not to get beat too bad. You're not going to win any games playing like that."
Buffalo turned the ball over nine times during the first half, leading to 15 Kent State points. For the game Buffalo turned the ball over 17 times compared to just 10 for the Golden Flashes.
Many of the turnovers can be attributed to the zone defense that Kent State played. For a large chunk of the first half Buffalo was suffocated by their defense, and was unable to find the open men, leading to forced shots and several turnovers.
"Especially if they're playing zone and you penetrate a gap, you know you're bringing two defenders, and so they're probably going to reach at the ball a little bit...before the ball comes out, blood should come out, but if you don't realize that then the ball will come out and you'll be the one bleeding, and that happened."
Kent State (22-5, 11-2 MAC) took a comfortable 41-26 lead into halftime. Buffalo came out more determined in the second half, chipping the lead down to 10 with just under 15 minutes left in the game. Kent State's Mike Mckee answered right back with one of his three second half treys, to halt the Buffalo run.
"I think confidence is the same that it has been since the beginning of the year, we just have to play harder and we have to play with a lot of heart, that's been they key in all of our games," Gamble said. "We have times in the game where we'll be right there, and we can come back, and if we just step up and get determined and play with some heart, we'll get right back in the game."
After Kent State had built its lead back up to 19, the Bulls had one more run left in them, clawing back into the game coming as close as eight points with two minutes left on the clock. Sean Smiley keyed this run hitting two three pointers and scoring eight points during the stretch. The clock was not on the Bulls side however, as there was not enough time to complete their run, and Kent State came away with a 76-66 victory.
Forward Calvin Betts led the Bulls, scoring 11 points and bringing in 11 rebounds, five of which were on the offensive end. Betts is averaging 10.9 points and 8.7 rebounds since the beginning of conference play. Despite hitting four of 12 shots, junior guard Andy Robinson scored 17 points in 29 minutes of play. These were the only two Bulls who scored in double digits during the game.
Kent State was led by resident Renaissance man Haminn Quaintance, who scored 14 points, brought down six rebounds, and recorded three assists, three steals, and three blocks. Al Fisher added 20 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Golden Flashes.
Buffalo will next take the court Saturday, Feb. 23 when they will face Youngstown State in the ESPN Bracket Buster match up at Alumni Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
