If it's true that when it rains it pours, then it's coming down in buckets on the UB men's basketball team. This time it wasn't two extra seconds on the clock that did the Bulls in; they were dominated for the entire 40 minutes in a 87-63 thumping at the hands of the Ball State Cardinals in front of 6,130 fans at the John Worthen Arena.
The Cardinals, who have struggled at times after shocking national powerhouses UCLA and Kansas in preseason tournaments, resembled their early season form as they sent the Bulls (10-14, 5-8 MAC) to their eighth loss in their last 10 contests.
Buffalo hung tough early, pulling to within five at 22-17 with 8:23 left in the opening stanza. Ball State then hit a barrage of three pointers to go into the locker room with a 41-28 halftime lead. UB never again managed to get within single digits, as Ball State shot a steaming 65.4 percent from the field to defuse any chance of a Buffalo comeback.
Buffalo did have an edge on the boards, at 42-35, but it was one of the few areas they excelled in Wednesday evening. Darcel Williams, coming off a career high 27 points against Western Michigan, was held to only three points on 1 of 6 shooting from the field. Williams is far less dangerous when played close to the body and not given time to spot up and shoot. Ball State's Lonnie Jones and Theron Smith implemented the scheme to perfection, and held Williams to only a single second-half field goal.
Robert Brown led the Bulls with 13 points, while Louis Campbell and Turner Battle each had 12. Battle had one of his strongest days as a Bull, adding five rebounds and four assists while turning the ball over only once.
Chris Williams came off the Cardinals bench to score 17 points, almost single-handedly outscoring the Buffalo bench, who combined for 19 points.
Theron Smith led the onslaught for the home team, posting a double double with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Buffalo will try to get off the slide this Saturday with a 2 p.m. tip-off against MAC opponent Central Michigan. The game will be televised on Empire Sports Network.
