Bulls Continue Homestand Tuesday Night vs. Toledo
2/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Buffalo (14-9, 7-3 MAC) vs. Toledo (14-9, 5-5 MAC)
February 9, 2016
Alumni Arena - 7:00 pm
Radio - Radio in Buffalo - 1520-AM WWKB
Television - TWCS/ESPN3
The Opening Tip...
• The Bulls continue their three-game homestand on Tuesday night when they host the Toledo Rockets at Alumni Arena. This will be the second time that these teams meet in the last 10 days with UB winning the last meeting 73-68 at Savage Arena on Jan. 30.
• The Bulls are coming off a an 80-70 come-from-behind victory over Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon, winning their fourth straight game and their sixth in their last seven contests. Toledo has won two straight since their loss to the Bulls, including an 82-67 victory at Kent State on Saturday night.
• The Bulls defeated Toledo 73-68 on Jan. 30 at Savage Arena, just the third time ever that UB had won in Toledo. Junior Blake Hamilton led the Bulls with 17 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Lamonte Bearden added 16 points and three assists. The Bulls opened the game 8-of-12 from three-point range. Nathan Boothe had 15 points and 12 rebounds for Toledo in the loss.
• UB and Eastern Michigan are the only two teams in the Mid-American Conference that will play five of their final eight games at home. UB has just three road games remaining (Akron, Ohio, Bowling Green).
The Opponent
• Toledo is 14-9 on the season and 5-5 in conference play following an 82-67 win over Kent State on Saturday night. The Rockets have won two straight since losing to UB last Saturday at Savage Arena, 73-68. The Rockets are 3-2 in MAC play on the road, while they are just 2-3 at home.
• Toledo is led by its big man Nathan Boothe, who leads the Rockets with 19.5 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per contest and he also second on the squad with 84 assists. Boothe was one of three Toledo players to score 15 points in the first meeting between the two teams. Jonathan Williams, who also had 15 points in the first meeting, is averaging 18.1 points per game for Toledo. Stuckey Mosley averages 11.0 points and has a team-high 89 assists.
• UB has won six of the last eight meetings between the two schools. The Bulls had won five straight before Toledo won two in a row. That stretch was snapped on Jan. 30 at Savage Arena.
Brother, Can You Spare Me A Dime?
The Bulls had a season-high 21 assists in the win over Delaware and for the first time this season had three players record at least five assists in the same game as Willie Conner finished with six assists, while Lamonte Bearden and CJ Massinburg each finished with five assists. It was the first time since Jan. 27 of last year against Western Michigan that UB had three players with at least five assists in the same game.
The Bulls had 19 assists in the win over Central Michigan, led by senior Jarryn Skeete, who had a career-high 12 dimes. The 12 assists were tied for 10th most in a single game in school history and the most by a UB player since John Boyer had 12 against Towson on Nov. 21, 2009. The 12 assists are also tied for 17th nationally for individual assists in a game. In the win over Ball State, Bearden and Skeete each finished with six assists marking the first time this season that the Bulls had two players with six or more assists in the same game. Bearden dished out seven assists in the win over Northern Illinois, while Massinburg tied his career high with five dimes.
Kent Hardly Wait
With UB's 76-67 victory at Kent State on Friday night, the Bulls have now beaten the Golden Flashes five straight times, the first MAC team to do so since Akron beat Kent State five straight between 2011-13. The Bulls, who had never won at Kent State prior to the 2013-14 season, have now won three straight at the M.A.C. Center, becoming the first MAC team to do that since Miami (OH) between 1995-97. Four MAC teams have never won three straight at Kent State.
It's The Freaken Weekend Baby, I'm About To Have Me Some Fun
The Bulls have been extremely successful this season when playing weekend contests as UB is 8-2 when games are played on Saturday's or Sunday's with its only two weekend losses coming in Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke and at Western Michigan. When you add in Friday night games, which is the start of any good weekend, UB's record is actually 10-2.
I Love The 90's
UB reached 90 points for the fourth time this season following its 90-78 win over Northern Illinois and the Bulls are a perfect 4-0 in the those games. UB also hit the 90-point mark in wins over Pitt-Bradford, Canisius and Delaware. UB has not lost a game in which it has scored at least 90 points since back-to-back overtime losses during the 2007-08 season.
The Pine Is Fine
The UB bench outscored Pitt-Bradford, 67-8, in the opener as three players reached double figures off the bench, including 20-point performances from Wigginton and Hamilton. The bench outscored the starting five in the game. UB got a strong contribution off the bench in the exhibition game as well as the Bulls outscored Daemen, 54-14, in bench points led by 25 points from Massinburg. The UB bench outscored its starters against St. Joseph's as it finished with 43 of the team's 67 points. The bench shined again against Canisius as it finished with 48 of the team's 98 points. So far the bench has 667 of the team's 1760 points (37.8%). Last year, the UB bench scored 479 points all season.
Six Pack
So far this season, the Bulls placed six players in double figures twice, both against Pitt-Bradford and Canisius. It was the first time since Jan. 4, 2012 against Buffalo State that UB has played in a game where six players scored in double figures and this is the first time since the 2003-04 season that UB has done it multiple times in a season. The Bulls placed six in double figures in back-to-back games against Marshall and Northern Illinois when Daniel Gilbert, Mario Jordan, Yassin Idbihi, Turner Battle and Mark Bortz each recorded double figures in the two games. Jason Bird and Roderick Middleton each did it once.
In the win over Delaware, the Bulls had seven players score at least nine points in the game, including career highs in points for Willie Conner, Jarryn Skeete, Nikola Rakicevic and David Kadiri.
Skeete Shooter
Senior Jarryn Skeete begins his fourth season in the Blue and White, the only four-year member of the Bulls. Skeete will be playing under his third head coach in four seasons. Skeete leads all active players on the Bulls in points (836), rebounds (363) and assists (229).
Skeete led the Bulls in scoring against Old Dominion, finishing with 12 points. He had a career-high six three pointers against North Carolina A&T, including five in the second half. It was the most threes in a game this season by a UB player. Skeete had one of his biggest three pointers against Canisius when he drained a shot while falling out of bounds, which sent the game into overtime. Skeete hit 3 three-pointers in the second half at Iowa State, helping the Bulls pull within one of the #4 team in the country with 13 minutes to play.
For the first time in his career, Skeete hit the 20-point mark as he had 20 points against Delaware, including five three-pointers. Skeete had 14 of his 20 points in the second half of the game.
Skeete had his second career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 12 assists in the win over Central Michigan. It was the first time that Skeete had recorded a double-double since his freshman season when he played point guard for the majority of the second half of the year.
No Sophomore Slump
Sophomore Lamonte Bearden looks to continue his strong freshman season in 2015-16 after being named to the All-MAC Freshman Team just a year ago. Bearden, who was one of five players named to the Preseason All-MAC East Division squad, led the MAC in assist to turnover ratio last season in conference games. Bearden had at least six assists 10 times last season, including a career-high 10 assists against Cornell, the first UB freshman to have double figures in assists since 2012-13.
Bearden also showed his ability as a scorer last season, averaging 8.3 points per game. The Milwaukee, WI native had a career-high 23 points against Big 4 rival Canisius. Bearden hit the game-winning shot in the regular season finale last season against Bowling Green, giving the Bulls a share of the regular season MAC Title and their second straight East Division crown.
Bearden tied his career high with eight free throws against St. Joseph's as he finished with 13 points against the Hawks. He added eight more free throws against North Carolina A&T and finished with 16 points. For the second time in his career, Bearden hit the 20-point threshold as he had 20 in the win over Vermont, going 6-of-14 from the floor and 7-8 from the free throw line. Bearden had 18 points, five assists and four steals in the victory over Canisius after setting a career high in scoring against the Griffs as a freshman. In his two career games against the cross-town rival, Bearden is averaging 20.5 points, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game. Bearden had 14 points, four assists and four steals in the win over Binghamton, including a circus-shot layup that made ESPN Sportscenter Top Plays. Bearden led the Bulls with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win over Montana St. It was the second time this season that Bearden recorded zero turnovers in a game and the fifth time in his career.
Bearden led the Bulls with 21 points, eight assists and five steals in the win over Kent State. He was nearly perfect from the field going 7-for-8 in the win. Bearden missed the Central Michigan and Miami (OH) games with a foot injury, but returned to the lineup against Western Michigan. He rejoined the starting lineup against Ball State and had 18 points, six assists and four steals. Bearden tied his career high with 23 points in the win over Northern Illinois, while adding seven assists and seven rebounds.
Con-Air
Junior Willie Conner joins the Bulls this season after playing last year at Odessa Community College, where he averaged 18.0 points per game. Conner, who played his freshman season at Florida A&M, is a knock down shooter as he hit 43% of his attempts from behind the arc last season.
A Chicago, IL native, Conner played his High School ball at Richard T. Crane High School, averaging 20.0 points. Conner started in the exhibition game and recorded 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. He had 10 points and four steals in the win over Pitt-Bradford. Conner added 10 points against St. Joseph's and 10 more vs. North Carolina A&T. He had a career-high 14 points in the win over Vermont, hitting a couple of three pointers, while also going 4-of-6 from the line. Conner had hist best game as a Bull against Delaware as he finished with 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while also dishing out a career-best six assists. Conner added 16 points and a career-high seven rebounds in the MAC opener against Akron. Conner had a game-high 22 points, including going 10-of-11 from the free throw line in the win over Kent State. Conner is currently third on the team in scoring in MAC games at 13.0 points per contest.
Alright Hamilton
Fellow junior college transfer Blake Hamilton played last season at Mt. San Antonio College in California after spending his freshman year at Northern Arizona. Hamilton averaged 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season as he shot 61.5% from the field.
Hamilton is a native of Pasadena, CA and comes from an extremely athletic family that has seen numerous cousins play college basketball. His father played for legendary head coach Don Haskins at UTEP.
Hamilton scored 21 points and had seven rebounds in the win over Pitt-Bradford, going 7-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Hamilton added nine points and five rebounds against Old Dominion. Hamilton led the Bulls with 14 points and seven rebounds against St. Joseph's. Hamilton added 14 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in the win over Vermont. He had another 14-point game against Canisius, while adding seven rebounds. Hamilton flirted with a triple-double in the win over Binghamton as he had eight points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. The eight dimes are the most by a UB player this season. Hamilton had 17 points and seven rebounds in the win over Montana St. After missing the Delaware game due to a concussion, Hamilton came back and scored 15 points against Akron, while adding four rebounds and three assists. Hamilton had his first career double-double against Eastern Michigan with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Hamilton just missed his second straight double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds against Central Michigan. Hamilton again flirted with a double-double at Miami (OH) as he led the Bulls with a career-high 22 points and nine rebounds. He also added four assists and four steals. Hamilton had his fourth straight game in double figures and at least eight rebounds with 14 points and nine boards against Ball State.
Hamilton had 17 points in the win at Toledo as he hit three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the game. Hamilton added 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists in the win over Eastern Michigan and he is second in scoring for UB in MAC games at 13.7 points per contest.
Get Smart
Redshirt freshman Ikenna Smart will look to make an impact on the floor this season, after redshirting last year. Smart has tremendous potential, but has only been playing basketball for three years. Smart is a native of Nigeria and was originally a soccer player before he was taught basketball in his native country.
Smart was then brought to the United States, ending up in Greensboro, NC where he played his high school basketball at the New Garden Friends School, where he averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds a game. Smart started in the exhibition game against Daemen and led all players with 11 rebounds. Smart had six points and four rebounds against St. Joseph's. He had a career-high nine rebounds against St. Bonaventure. Smart tied that career high by pulling down nine rebounds at Duke, including four on the offensive end, which led all players. Smart had his best game in the MAC opener against Akron as he finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting. Smart tied his career-high with nine points, while adding seven rebounds and three blocked shots against Central Michigan. Smart had a career-high 10 rebounds in the win at Miami (OH).
David Is Goliath
UB's third junior college transfer on this year's team is David Kadiri, who played at South Plains Community College after spending his freshman year at Maryland-Baltimore County. Kadiri helped lead his junior college to an appearance in the JUCO national championship, recording 13 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocked shots in the championship game. Kadiri made his UB debut at Old Dominion and he finished with six points, four rebounds and two blocked shots. Kadiri blocked three shots, all in the first half, in the win over Binghamton. Kadiri recorded eight points, while adding five rebounds and three more blocks against Montana St. He had a career-best 13 points in 14 minutes at Eastern Michigan. Kadiri added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting at Miami (OH).
I Know You...
Both Willie Conner and David Kadiri both played in the WJCAC and Kadiri's South Plains squad got the better of each of the two meetings last season. In the first meeting at South Plains, Kadiri's squad won 107-86, while in the second meeting, which was held at Odessa, South Plains won, 80-69. Conner had 14 points in the second meeting between the two schools.
In the Nick of Time
Freshman Nick Perkins joins the Bulls from Ypsilanti, MI after playing his high school ball at Milan High School. In his high school career, Perkins recorded four league titles, four district crowns, two regional titles, and one state title.
Perkins went 22-3 during his senior season at Milan, averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. He was a 1,000 point scorer in high school and a four-time All-State selection. Perkins had 12 points in the season opener and added nine points and five rebounds against Vermont. Perkins finished with a career-high 15 points in the win over Canisius, including the game-winning dunk in overtime. In his homecoming at Eastern Michigan, Perkins had a career-high 13 rebounds. Perkins had 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting at Western Michigan. Perkins added 14 points and seven rebounds in the win at Northern Illinois.
Mass Production
Freshman CJ Massinburg is the first UB basketball player from the state of Texas as the Dallas native played his high school ball at South Oak Cliff, where he averaged 22.3 points per game.
Massinburg recorded 19 points in the regular season opener against Pitt-Bradford as he went 6-of-9 from the floor, including 2-of-2 from three point range and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe.
Massinburg had 17 points, including 3-of-5 from three against North Carolina A&T. He led the Bulls with 17 points against Duke, scoring 13 of those points in the second half. Massinburg with 8-of-12 from the field at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Massinburg had another 17-point performance in the win over Binghamton, scoring 14 points in the opening half, including a stretch of 11 in a row. Massinburg had 13 points, three assists and a career-best four steals in the win over Toledo, including 11 of those points in the first half when the Bulls built a double-digit lead. Massinburg had 16 points, including going 10-of-11 from the line in the win over Northern Illinois. Massinburg had 12 points in the win over Eastern Michigan.
Eagle Eye
Head coach Nate Oats spent 11 years as the head coach at Romulus High School and he now coaches two of his high school players on this year's team. Senior Raheem Johnson and sophomore Christian Pino both played for Coach Oats at Romulus as did the 2014-15 MAC Player of the Year, Justin Moss. Oats and Romulus won a state title in 2012-13, finishing the year 27-1.
Other current Division-I players that Coach Oats mentored at Romulus High School include: E.C. Matthews (Rhode Island), Wes Clark (Missouri), Jaylin Walker (Kent State), Raven Lee (Eastern Michigan).
Home Sweet Home
Since the beginning of the 2013-14 season, which included two years of Nate Oats as assistant coach, the Bulls have been nearly perfect at home, winning 32 of the last 37 games. Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Bulls are 68-17 in Alumni Arena and going back even further, the Bulls are 133-47 at home since the 2003-04 season.
