Buffalo (7-4) toppled cross-town, Division-III Buffalo State (10-2) 111-59 on Wednesday night. Here are some game notes:
- The Bulls jumped out to an 18-2 start behind strong point play from sophomore Jarod Oldham. He ran the show better than he has all year, and found Javon McCrea wide open under the hoop on a couple beautiful feeds.
- After the starters got off to that huge start, head coach Reggie Witherspoon went to his reserves. Of the group, Auraum Nuiriankh, Corey Raley-Ross, and Titus Robinson were most impressive. Nuiriankh canned a 3-pointer (finished with 12 points) and Robinson snatched down several big rebounds, while he was a noticeable presence in the post. Raley-Ross whiffed on a fast break dunk, but he slashed to the basket in the second half and amassed 12 points.
- Six UB players finished in double figures (none named Javon McCrea): Mitchell Watt (22), Zach Filzen (16), Dave Barnett (14), Robinson (12), Raley-Ross (12), and Nuiriankh (12).
- Just one Bengal finished with 10-plus points: guard Jake Simmons had 13.
- The Bulls manhandled Buff State on the glass, 68-32.
- Buffalo led 51-27 at the half. Watt led the way with 15 and Filzen added 10.
- Buffalo was stronger, faster, and just simply the better team as Division-III Buffalo State struggled to contain the Bulls' offense and attack their lengthy ‘D.'
- The importance of this game was miniscule and the crowd matched the size, as few fans filled the seats and the student section was virtually empty.
- The new scoreboard has been installed but it wasn't used in this one. It was covered by a black drape, but the board will be in use Saturday when the Bulls play Kent State (10-3) in a colossal Mid-American Conference matchup - a rematch of the game that ended Buffalo's season in the MAC Tournament last year.
