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University at Buffalo
9-4 (3-2MAC)
Ball State
4-12 (1-4MAC)
Bulls Drop Road Contest At Ball State, 71-68
1/23/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MUNCIE, IN – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team was unable to hold on to a six-point halftime lead as cold shooting from behind the arc caught up to the Bulls in a 71-68 loss at Ball State. The Bulls are now 9-6 on the season and tied for second in the MAC East with a 3-2 conference record.
UB's recipe for success had been strong second half play, but tonight the Bulls were outscored 41-32 over the final 20 minutes and uncharacteristically turned it over nine times in the second half. UB had come into the game with just 18 second-half turnover through the first four conference games.
Neither team held on to more than a seven-point advantage, which the Bulls had with 2:13 left in the first half. Despite UB's struggles, senior Javon McCrea had a dominant night, which began with an 18-point first half. He scored half of Buffalo's points in the half, including four and-1 opportunities. A jumper from junior Will Regan gave the Bulls their largest lead at 33-26 and Buffalo continued to hold a six-point lead into the break.
However, the Cardinals quickly tied the game up early in the second half and neither team held more than a four-point lead over the final 17 minutes of action. The Bulls led by four, 65-61, with 3:27 left, but the Cardinals responded by going on a 6-0 run to take a 67-65 lead with 1:25 left. The two teams traded baskets and the Bulls got the ball back down by two, but McCrea split a pair of free throws and Jesse Berry knocked in two free throws to give Ball State a 71-68 lead, which turned out to be their largest lead of the game. Senior Joshua Freelove had a look from three, but missed and Ball State went back to the free throw line. They missed on the front-end of a one-and-one and the Bulls had one more look at three, but it could not fall.
"I give Ball State a lot of credit and they came out and played hard tonight," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "We have been successful this season because of our defense and tonight we didn't give a good enough effort on the defensive side of the floor."
McCrea moved into third place on UB's all-time scoring list as he surpassed Mike Martinho and now has 1,428 points, just 105 from second place. McCrea had his eighth double-double of the year adding 11 rebounds.
Freelove also finished in double figures with 15 points. Senior Jarod Oldham did a nice job passing the ball tonight as he tied his career high with 11 assists, turning it over just one time. He also added seven points, a block and a steal.
Regan added eight points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Xavier Ford had four points and three rebounds.
The Bulls shot 1-of-14 from three-point range, their lowest total of the season, but were very efficient from inside the arc, shooting 25-44 (56.8%).
Ball State had four players in double figures led by 21 points off the bench from Berry. Chris Bond finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
UB remains out on the road and has a quick turnaround as they face Northern Illinois on Saturday at 2:00 pm eastern time.
