Last season, the men's basketball team finished with a dismal 1-7 record in the month of January. The first month of 2008 has been just as unkind. The Bulls currently stare at a January record of 0-6, with all of the losses coming in vital Mid-American Conference (MAC) games.
Buffalo's record dropped to 6-12 on the year as they fell on the road to Toledo, 76-63, on Saturday night. The defeat marked the Bulls' seventh straight loss and their ninth loss in the last 10 games. They have just two wins away from Alumni Arena this season, both of which came in tournaments where they were listed as the home team. Dating back to last season, Buffalo has dropped 18 straight games when marked as the visiting team.
In Toledo, the Bulls struggled early in both halves and the Rockets (6-12, 3-3 MAC) took full advantage of it. A foul by freshman forward Jawaan Alston on the game's first possession put Toledo up 2-0. The Rockets would make five of eight free throws in the first half, while the Bulls did not get to the line until the 5:16 mark of the second half.
Toledo carried a 32-25 advantage into halftime, and came out strong to start the second. Following an 8-0 run, the Rockets had a 15-point lead with 14:33 to go.
"We have to get to a better start at the beginning of games and the beginning of halves," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We need to take a good look at that, find out if we need to make some changes."
The Bulls chipped away at Toledo's lead, with back-to-back three-pointers from junior guard Andy Robinson to cut the deficit down to 51-50. A few possessions later, sophomore guard Sean Smiley stole the ball from Toledo guard Tyrone Kent and was fouled with 5:48 to play. Smiley converted both free throws to tie the game 55-55. Witherspoon was pleased by the effort put forth by both of his veterans.
"(Smiley) shot it very well and he shot it without hesitation," Witherspoon said. "I know Andy (Robinson) didn't get off to a good first half, but he came back in the second half and at least played aggressive. I'm hoping both those guys can just continue to play aggressive."
Smiley came off the bench and led the Bulls with 21 points, including five three-pointers. Robinson scored 14 points in a team-high 29 minutes of play.
The Bulls got 45 points from their bench players, including a double-double from sophomore guard Calvin Betts who had 12 points and 11 rebounds. The team also committed 20 turnovers and shot just 38 percent from the floor. Alston and Betts both fouled out late in the game. Eleven Bulls saw action in the game.
"Guys that came in had good energy and really got after it defensively. And it helped our offense. We still don't have the necessary poise to play with good energy and play with good intensity and then not force things. So we seem to get unforced turnovers because we don't have enough poise to balance those things," Witherspoon said.
The Rockets snapped the tie, scoring 18 of the game's final 26 points to seal the victory. Kent finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. Toledo guard Jonathan Amos complimented him with 20 points and 10 assists of his own.
When the Bulls did manage to get to the free throw line in the second half, they struggled mightily, shooting seven for 15. Robinson made just four of seven attempts and junior forward Brian Addison missed all three tries.
"We need to do a lot of things better. We need to figure out a way to get more free throws," Witherspoon said. "We had some layups, we got fouled on some of those layups and then missed both free throws. When you're not getting there very often, you have to make the ones when you get there."
The Buffalo bench was also called for two technical fouls in the game. The first, coming 5:26 into the second half, was called on Witherspoon. The second was called on the Buffalo bench with 3:36 to play. Both calls are still a mystery to Witherspoon.
"I don't know. I don't know," he said. "I'm still trying to figure out the first technical. I asked the one official to ask (the other official) what I said. The first one was on me. He came back and said, 'you didn't say anything.' So he basically said he wouldn't have called it but he wasn't the official who made the call."
Witherspoon hinted that changes to the starting lineup may be in the cards in upcoming games. The Bulls look to snap their losing skid against Western Michigan (10-8, 4-1 MAC) on Tuesday. Tip-off from Alumni Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
