Before Saturday night's non-conference game against the host Evansville Purple Aces of the Missouri Valley Conference, men's basketball head coach Reggie Witherspoon thought his team was well prepared.
"We are fired up and focused," he said.
The Bulls proceeded to go out and prove their coach wrong.
Hoping to start 3-0 for the first time since the 1986-87 season, Buffalo's (2-1) three away games, to start the season, along with the raucous crowd at Roberts Stadium, were difficult to overcome. Nate Gardner scored a career-high 20 points to lead the Evansville Purple Aces (3-0) to a 64-49 victory.
"We didn't do anything well," Witherspoon said. "Free throws, layups, 3-pointers, we didn't shoot anything well tonight."
However, both teams were very sloppy at the start.
After struggling to make baskets for the first five minutes, the Purple Aces went on a 9-0 run that gave them a 15-11 lead with 11:35 remaining in the first half.
As the minutes passed by, the Bulls saw their shooting percentage steadily decline and their turnovers increase.
By the end of the first half, Buffalo found themselves down 32-21 and looking for answers.
The first half saw the Bulls commit 12 turnovers, shoot 32 percent and go 2 for 6 from the free throw line. Evansville took advantage of the fouls, hitting 8 of 11 from the charity stripe, only committing five turnovers.
The second half proved more of the same.
Both teams found it difficult to score in the opening minutes, but Evansville was able to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the second half.
The closest the Bulls got to the Purple Eagles in the second half was eight at the 7:29 mark.
From then on, it was all Purple Aces as the Bulls were unable to score and physically dominated in the paint.
The Bulls, with two minutes left in the game, had one bright moment, going on a 7-0 run to end the game. Unfortunately, the deficit was too much for Buffalo to overcome, losing by 15.
The final game stats explained why the Bulls were unsuccessful.
Buffalo shot 42.1 percent (8 of 19) from the free throw line while the Purple Aces made 76.2 percent (16 of 21). The Bulls also trailed in field goal shooting and surpassed their season average of 16 turnovers, committing 19.
While both teams struggled from behind the 3-point line, Evansville dominated in the paint, outscoring Buffalo 34-21.
"[Evansville] outworked us," Witherspoon said. "They were physical in the paint and they played better than us."
Despite the unrewarding result, there were some noteworthy individual performances by some of the Bulls.
The defense of junior guard Calvin Betts helped to keep the score from getting out of hand. Freshman forward Mitchell Watt had the best game of his young collegiate career with eight points, two blocks and one assist and proved much-needed energy off the bench. Senior point guard Greg Gamble led all Buffalo players with 15 points.
The Bulls look to improve in order to avoid a similar season to last year when they finished 10-20 with a 3-14 mark in the Mid-American Conference.
"We need to get tougher," Witherspoon said. "We've got to find a way to get tough points around the basket."
Buffalo's next game is on Tuesday when they take on the Niagara Purple Eagles at 8 p.m. at Alumni Arena. The home opener marks the beginning of a five-game home stand.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
