Wednesday, November 29
Harrisonburg, Va.
7 p.m.
1-6,0-0MAC
66
at
81
#22 James Madison
7-0,0-0Sun Belt
1
2
F
Buffalo
24
42
66
James Madison
37
44
81
Photo by: Zach Monell/UBBulls.com
Bulls Fall on the Road to Nationally Ranked James Madison
11/29/2023 10:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (1-6, 0-0 MAC) fell to No. 22 James Madison (7-0, 0-0 Sun Belt), 81-66.
The Bulls' early struggles to games carried over against the nationally ranked Dukes on Wednesday evening. James Madison launched themselves to a 10-0 lead just 2:46 into the contest forcing a Buffalo timeout. The Bulls got on the board with a Jonnivius Smith layup with 16:15 left in the half.
Buffalo chipped away as they made it a one-point game after Sy Chatman drilled his first of three three-pointers at the 10:40 mark. The three threes marked a career-high for the fifth year forward. At the under-8 media timeout, the Dukes only led by two after Shawn Fulcher nailed a jumper. Down 21-19 was the closest the Bulls got within striking distance of taking the lead the rest of the way.
With James Madison up 37-24 at the half, they'd extend their lead 23 in the second half. The Dukes went on a hot streak in the middle portion of the second half as they went 9-for-9 in nine straight possessions to have their largest lead of the night at 23. The Bulls battled to the end with as they nearly kept pace in second half scoring with the Dukes, getting edged out, 44-42.
Freshman Ryan Sabol had a career day against the 22nd ranked team in the country. The freshman finished with 15 points, three three-pointers, four free throws, two rebounds, and four made field goals all marked career high numbers.
Chatman closed the night out with a 19-point performance, tying his UB career high.
Jonnivius Smith finished with a career-high four blocks.
The Dukes edged out the Bulls from the floor, shooting 48.4% to 45.3%.
"When you go into an environment like this against a top-25 team, I was really proud of how our guys responded early," stated Head Coach George Halcovage III. "You could go down the road anytime and we fought back and got back in the game. I think our guys competed for 40 minutes. I thought Ryan Sabol was great tonight. Sy Chatman's been terrific and he's finally getting back as he's battled injuries throughout his career. I have such great respect for JMU. Coach [Mark] Byington's a technical coach, and that team can make it run in the NCAA Tournament."
The Bulls are back in action on Saturday as they host Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m.
The Bulls' early struggles to games carried over against the nationally ranked Dukes on Wednesday evening. James Madison launched themselves to a 10-0 lead just 2:46 into the contest forcing a Buffalo timeout. The Bulls got on the board with a Jonnivius Smith layup with 16:15 left in the half.
Buffalo chipped away as they made it a one-point game after Sy Chatman drilled his first of three three-pointers at the 10:40 mark. The three threes marked a career-high for the fifth year forward. At the under-8 media timeout, the Dukes only led by two after Shawn Fulcher nailed a jumper. Down 21-19 was the closest the Bulls got within striking distance of taking the lead the rest of the way.
With James Madison up 37-24 at the half, they'd extend their lead 23 in the second half. The Dukes went on a hot streak in the middle portion of the second half as they went 9-for-9 in nine straight possessions to have their largest lead of the night at 23. The Bulls battled to the end with as they nearly kept pace in second half scoring with the Dukes, getting edged out, 44-42.
Freshman Ryan Sabol had a career day against the 22nd ranked team in the country. The freshman finished with 15 points, three three-pointers, four free throws, two rebounds, and four made field goals all marked career high numbers.
Chatman closed the night out with a 19-point performance, tying his UB career high.
Jonnivius Smith finished with a career-high four blocks.
The Dukes edged out the Bulls from the floor, shooting 48.4% to 45.3%.
"When you go into an environment like this against a top-25 team, I was really proud of how our guys responded early," stated Head Coach George Halcovage III. "You could go down the road anytime and we fought back and got back in the game. I think our guys competed for 40 minutes. I thought Ryan Sabol was great tonight. Sy Chatman's been terrific and he's finally getting back as he's battled injuries throughout his career. I have such great respect for JMU. Coach [Mark] Byington's a technical coach, and that team can make it run in the NCAA Tournament."
The Bulls are back in action on Saturday as they host Big 4 rival St. Bonaventure at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
UB
JMU
FG%
.453
.484
3FG%
.346
.370
FT%
.643
.600
RB
29
37
TO
18
8
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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