12-6 (3-3MAC)
Ohio
7-10 (2-4MAC)
NDour's Late Dunk Leads Ohio Past UB, 63-61
1/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
ATHENS, OH – Ohio senior Maurice Ndour capped off a 31-point afternoon by scoring the game-winning basket with one second left as the host Bobcats defeated the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, men's basketball team, 63-61, Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. It was the first time this season that UB has lost two straight as its record now stands at 12-6 and 3-3 in conference play.
Neither team ever led by more than seven points in a game that seemed to go back and forth for all 40 minutes. The Bulls took a four-point lead midway through the first half as they received a spark off the bench from junior Rodell Wigginton, who had a pair of put back dunks and a jumper, giving the Bulls a 20-16 edge. Ohio answered with a 13-2 run as it took its largest lead of the game at 29-22 with 4:30 left. However, UB answered with a 9-1 run of its own, as a pair of free throws from Xavier Ford put UB up 31-30 before a layup from Ndour ended the half with Ohio ahead, 32-31.
The Bobcats built an early six point lead in the second half, but a 12-2 run from the Bulls gave them a 43-39 advantage. A three pointer from junior Jarryn Skeete gave UB its largest lead of the game at 52-45 and the Bulls remained ahead by that margin with 5:37 left.
Ohio began to chip away at the lead, and went on a 14-4 run, taking a three-point lead with 56 seconds left. Skeete tied the game up with a big three pointer with 41 seconds remaining and the Bulls had the ball with a chance to win it. Skeete missed a floating layup with two seconds left and Ohio called a timeout following the rebound. A long pass from Antonio Campbell found its way into the hands of Ndour, who converted with the two-handed dunk. A last second desperation three by Skeete was just off the mark at the buzzer.
"We wanted to have someone on the ball to make sure that they didn't get off a clean pass," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "Unfortunately it did not work out for us and Ndour is a great player in our league and he had a big day and made the big play to win it."
The Bulls were led by 11 points from Justin Moss and off the bench from Ford. Junior Raheem Johnson finished with a career-high 10 points, all coming in the second half, before he fouled out of the contest. Wigginton added eight points and tied Moss with seven rebounds, good for team-high honors.
Sophomore Shannon Evans added eight points, while Lamonte Bearden finished with seven points and Skeete added six on a pair of three pointers.
UB had a huge advantage on the boards in the game, 45-30 and led in the points in the paint, 32-28. The Bulls also outscored the Ohio bench, 29-5.
Ohio, which has now won two straight in league play, got 31 points from Ndour, who went 10-for-10 from the line. Ryan Taylor added 12 points and Campbell led all player with 10 rebounds.
After being just one of two teams in the league to start MAC play with four of the first six on the road, the Bulls will open a two-game home stand on Tuesday night with a rematch against Western Michigan at 7:00 pm.
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