The University at Buffalo Bulls men’s basketball team(1-1) found themselves in a precarious position with just over eight minutes remaining in Denton, TX as they trailed by 11 to the North Texas Mean Green(1-1). The deficit was one hurdle, but the thought of being the first Bulls team to start 0-2 since 2013-14 propelled this roster‘s comeback 69-66 win as they made all nine of their last nine shot attempts in North Texas.
It was a different recipe for UB in this victory than in their opening 88-76 loss to No. 4 Michigan as the Bulls saw a much more balanced offensive output. Senior Jeenathan Williams put up a career-high 32 points against the Wolverines, but ran into some rough stretches against North Texas.
Williams was picked up by fellow seniors Maceo Jack, Ronaldo Segu, and Josh Mballa as each had at least 17 points to compliment Williams’ 14. Jack led the way with an efficient shooting day and 18 points while going 7-of-12 from the field. It was evident early on, that Jack was past whatever shooting struggles he had in Ann Arbor as he added a quick 5 points to put the Bulls into an early lead.
UB found themselves ahead by as many as eight points until their scoring really dried up. In fact, after the Bulls reached 28 points, it took them 17 minutes and 13 seconds to score 20 more points. This span went from 5:44 remaining in the first half until 8:31 remaining in the game.
The Mean Green used tenacious defense to earn 11 points off of turnovers which allowed them to take a 36-32 lead into the halftime break. Guards Mardrez McBride and Tylor Perry were able to contribute with great transitional looks beyond the arc. The pair were 7-of-13 from deep.
JUNFU HAN, DETROIT FREE PRESS
The Bulls corrected the turnover issues in the second half and allowed just one point off their turnovers. Offensively, things started slow for UB in the second half as they had just 13 points over the first 11-minutes. From there, the Bulls caught fire as Williams, Mballa, and Jack hit consecutive three-pointers cutting the Mean Green lead from 11 to 5.
Over the last 9-minutes, UB would put up 24 points including eight of the last 13 coming from Segu. A Jeenathan Williams three-pointer gave the Bulls the lead with 3:12 remaining before five-straight Segu points sealed the game for the Bulls.
Segu struggled a bit with five turnovers, but buckled in and took over at the end of the game when he was needed most. Mballa seemed to find his game again playing against a smaller North Texas lineup as the forward was 5-of-7 from the field while adding 10 boards for a double-double.
Something to monitor going forward is that the Bulls had just three bench points which came from David Skogman who played 10 more minutes than the starter Brock Bertram. In a combined 30 minutes, LaQuill Hardnett, Keishawn Brewton, and Curtis Jones had zero points, four rebounds, and SEVEN personal fouls.
Jones played in just four minutes, but you really need more output from Brewton and Hardnett in the minutes that they are getting. There a freshman like Jones, eagerly waiting on the bench for the chance to prove what they can do.
UB should have a chance to get deeper into its bench as they will welcome Rider into Alumni Arena this Saturday at 2 P.M.. Young guys like Jones, Kuluel Mading, and Kidtrell Blocker look to have a ton of upside and should get the opportunity against a Rider team that was just 6-17(5-13) in 2020-21. Rider is currently 2-1, but their two wins were over perennial MEAC bottom-dwellers Coppin State and Delaware State.
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