4-1
Canisius
2-3
Bulls Take Down Canisius In Big 4 Basketball Classic
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The State University of New York, Buffalo men's basketball team led wire-to-wire on Saturday afternoon as the Bulls scored the first six points of the game and defeated Canisius, 72-57, at the Big 4 Basketball Classic downtown at the First Niagara Center. This is the third straight road win for the Bulls as they improve to 4-1 on the season.
The Bulls opened the game on an 11-2 run with six of those points coming from junior Justin Moss. A three-pointer from freshman Lamonte Bearden put UB up 16-6 with 13:35 left and it would be just the beginning for the freshman, who scored a career-best 23 points in the contest.
Canisius pulled within six in the first half at 25-19 before the Bulls went on a 9-0 run over the final 4:18 of the first half. All nine points came between Bearden and junior Rodell Wigginton as the Bulls took a 34-19 lead into the break. The 19 points scored by Canisius were the fewest that UB has allowed in a half so far this season.
The Griffs opened the second half on a 9-3 run to pull back within single digits at 37-28, but a fast-break dunk from Moss put the Bulls back ahead by double figures, which they would hold on to for the rest of the night. UB built up its biggest lead of the day with 10:27 left as a layup from Xavier Ford gave the Bulls a 54-34 lead.
Canisius was able to pull no closer than 12, which it did with 2:00 minutes remaining, but Bearden was able to score the final four points for the Bulls before being replaced in the final 35 seconds by Christian Pino and Bobby Frasco, who made their season debuts.
"I thought it was great energy from us defensively in the first half and that's the type of defense we have been talking about playing all season and have shown flashes of," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "It was exciting to see us play a great 20 minutes, but I am not sure we played nearly as well in the second half today as we did in the first so we have to figure out a way to put 40 minutes of basketball together. But overall its a great win, and we are excited about it."
Bearden, who scored eight points in each of the first four games this season, led all scorers with 23 points as he shot 9-of-13 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc. He also had four assists, tying sophomore Shannon Evans for game-high honors. Moss finished with his second double-double of the season as he had 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Wigginton also finished in double figures as he had 12 points and a career-best seven rebounds off the bench. Ford had four points, six rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots, while junior Raheem Johnson added three more blocks, while also finishing with four points and four rebounds.
Canisius fell to 2-3 on the season as the Griffs were led by Zach Lewis, who had 14 points and six rebounds, while Phil Valenti finished with 11 points.
As a salute to the Buffalo Braves, all four Big 4 teams wore throwback uniforms as part of today's doubleheader. UB and Canisius wore uniforms made up of the Braves' final color scheme – Columbia blue and white with black trim. The Columbia blue and white color scheme was the franchise's look until the Braves moved to California.
The Bulls will remain on the road Wednesday night as they face their second straight Big 4 opponent in St. Bonaventure. The game will tip off at 7:00 pm and it will air live on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel and Sportsnet New York (SNY).
