6-4
Drexel
8-4
Bulls Earn Hard-Fought Victory At Drexel, 55-52
12/29/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA, PA – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team picked up its first true road victory of the year on Sunday afternoon, outscoring the host Drexel Dragons 35-28 in the second half en route to a 55-52 win. The victory is UB's second straight and improves its record to 6-4 heading into the final non-conference game of the season on Friday.
It was a slow start offensively for both teams in the first half as the two squads combined to shoot just 15-of-57 from the floor. Drexel led by as many as eight in the opening half at 22-14 with 4:36 remaining, but UB ended the half on a quick 6-2 run, including a put-back basket from sophomore Justin Moss as time expired, which pulled UB within 24-20 at the break.
The Bulls scored the first four points of the second half to tie the game up and neither team had more than a five-point lead until Drexel regained a five-point advantage at 39-34 with 11:42. Despite the Bulls hitting just one three pointer to that point, sophomore Jarryn Skeete calmly knocked down a triple pulling the Bulls back within two. Buffalo held on to a 49-48 lead when four straight points from senior Javon McCrea gave UB a 53-48 lead, tying for its largest lead of the game.
Drexel cut the lead to 54-52 and had the ball late, but missed a three-pointer with three seconds left as senior Joshua Freelove took in the rebound with just 0.2 second left. He made the first before missing the second intentionally to end the game.
"We scheduled this game because we have a lot of respect for Drexel and the way they play and we thought this game would prepare us well for our conference season," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "I was really proud of how our guys played defense and while the offense wasn't pretty for a majority of the game, I thought Javon McCrea really made things difficult for them in the second half."
McCrea finished with 20 points despite picking up three first-half fouls and playing just 27 minutes. He had 16 of his points in the second half as he also finished with nine rebounds and two blocks. No other player scored in double figures. Junior Will Regan finished with seven points and a career-high 10 rebounds, including nine on the defensive end. Regan also drew a big charge late in the game to help cement the victory.
Freshman Shannon Evans finished with six points, hitting a pair of big three pointers in the second half. Senior Jarod Oldham had four points, five rebounds and a game-high eight assists. Freelove had five points and a season-high four assists. Moss and junior Xavier Ford also finished with five points.
Drexel fell to 8-4, losing at home for the first time this season. This is also just of one two losses for the Dragons that came to opponents that were not nationally ranked. The 52 points scored were the fewest the Bulls have allowed all season and the fewest that Drexel had scored in a game this year.
The UB defense held Drexel to a 1-for-14 performance from three-point range, including 0-for-8 from leading scorer Chris Fouch.
The Bulls close out non-conference play at home on Friday night when they host South Dakota State. Tip off is set for 7pm.
