Monday, November 6
Buffalo, N.Y.
7:30 p.m.
0-1,0-0MAC
86
vs
92
FDU
1-0,0-0NEC
1
2
F
FDU
54
38
92
Buffalo
44
42
86
Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com
Bulls Fight to the Bitter End Against FDU in Season Opener
11/6/2023 11:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (0-1, 0-0 MAC) opened the 2023-24 regular season against the FDU Knights (1-0, 0-0 NEC) on Monday evening. The Knights pulled away with a 92-86 win over the Bulls. Isaiah Adams finished with a career-high 28 points as Jonnivius Smith finished with 19 points and 19 rebounds, both career high marks.
It was an offensive explosion in the opening half of play. The Knights outshot the Bulls 54.3% to 50.0% from the floor. Both squads were on point from beyond the arc as they each knocked down eight threes in the half. A key difference with the 10-point halftime deficit was the points off turnovers. The Knights edged the Bulls 15-3 in that department.
UB's lone lead came at the 15:50 mark in the first half at 14-13 out of the media timeout. Isaiah Adams drilled a three off a pass from Ryan Sabol. The Bulls found themselves in a hole, down 12 points at 43-31 with six minutes remaining in the half. An Adams led 8-0 run cut the deficit to four with just over four and half minutes to go in the opening half. Heading into the half, the Bulls had two turnovers that allowed FDU to close that half on a 5-0 run. The Knights led 54-44. The Bulls were 2-of-6 (33.3%) from the charity stripe as FDU was 8-of-14 (57.1%) in the half.
Both offenses slowed down in the second half as the Knights shot 11-of-28 (39.3%) and the Bulls were 13-of-38 (34.2%). FDU increased their lead to 12 out of the half and had a healthy lead until seven minutes into the half when the Knights got into foul trouble. The Bulls cut the lead down to two, trailing 70-68 with just over 11 minutes remaining in regulation. A Jonnivius Smith made layup-and-one swung the momentum the Bulls' way. A pair of Isaiah Adams free throws with 10:17 left tied the game at 70. The Knights quickly took back the lead at 72-70. Both teams struggled to find the basket as it went scoreless for nearly two minutes. Kanye Jones drilled a pair of free throws to tie the game at 72 with 8:43 left.
At the final media timeout, 3:24 remained with the Knights leading, 82-78. With time dwindling, the Bulls cut the lead down to one possession three times. Shawn Fulcher was fouled on a three-point attempt with 21-seconds remaining and FDU leading 88-83. After making all three free throws, the Knights led by two before making four straight free throws to ice the game.
Second chance scoring was crucial for the Bulls. They outscored the Knights, 21-7, in the category. FDU's discipline to only turn the ball over six times led to the Bulls finishing with just three points off turnovers.
Joining Adams and Smith in the double-figure scoring was Sy Chatman (10) and Shawn Fulcher (14). Adams also tied for a game-high five assists.
"That was a great team that was very well coached," stated Head Coach George Halcovage III. Coach [Jack] Castleberry has been with this crew, and they have a lot of veterans that played him big time games and it showed tonight. They came into this environment and really set a tone and took it to us in the first half. Really proud of how our guys responded in the second half and kept battling and we just came up a little short. Credit to FDU, really well coached team and they compete on both ends. Great respect for them."
The Bulls will take part in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 11 as they host the South Alabama Jaguars at 2 p.m.
For tickets, click here.
It was an offensive explosion in the opening half of play. The Knights outshot the Bulls 54.3% to 50.0% from the floor. Both squads were on point from beyond the arc as they each knocked down eight threes in the half. A key difference with the 10-point halftime deficit was the points off turnovers. The Knights edged the Bulls 15-3 in that department.
UB's lone lead came at the 15:50 mark in the first half at 14-13 out of the media timeout. Isaiah Adams drilled a three off a pass from Ryan Sabol. The Bulls found themselves in a hole, down 12 points at 43-31 with six minutes remaining in the half. An Adams led 8-0 run cut the deficit to four with just over four and half minutes to go in the opening half. Heading into the half, the Bulls had two turnovers that allowed FDU to close that half on a 5-0 run. The Knights led 54-44. The Bulls were 2-of-6 (33.3%) from the charity stripe as FDU was 8-of-14 (57.1%) in the half.
Both offenses slowed down in the second half as the Knights shot 11-of-28 (39.3%) and the Bulls were 13-of-38 (34.2%). FDU increased their lead to 12 out of the half and had a healthy lead until seven minutes into the half when the Knights got into foul trouble. The Bulls cut the lead down to two, trailing 70-68 with just over 11 minutes remaining in regulation. A Jonnivius Smith made layup-and-one swung the momentum the Bulls' way. A pair of Isaiah Adams free throws with 10:17 left tied the game at 70. The Knights quickly took back the lead at 72-70. Both teams struggled to find the basket as it went scoreless for nearly two minutes. Kanye Jones drilled a pair of free throws to tie the game at 72 with 8:43 left.
At the final media timeout, 3:24 remained with the Knights leading, 82-78. With time dwindling, the Bulls cut the lead down to one possession three times. Shawn Fulcher was fouled on a three-point attempt with 21-seconds remaining and FDU leading 88-83. After making all three free throws, the Knights led by two before making four straight free throws to ice the game.
Second chance scoring was crucial for the Bulls. They outscored the Knights, 21-7, in the category. FDU's discipline to only turn the ball over six times led to the Bulls finishing with just three points off turnovers.
Joining Adams and Smith in the double-figure scoring was Sy Chatman (10) and Shawn Fulcher (14). Adams also tied for a game-high five assists.
"That was a great team that was very well coached," stated Head Coach George Halcovage III. Coach [Jack] Castleberry has been with this crew, and they have a lot of veterans that played him big time games and it showed tonight. They came into this environment and really set a tone and took it to us in the first half. Really proud of how our guys responded in the second half and kept battling and we just came up a little short. Credit to FDU, really well coached team and they compete on both ends. Great respect for them."
The Bulls will take part in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge on Saturday, Nov. 11 as they host the South Alabama Jaguars at 2 p.m.
For tickets, click here.
Team Stats
FDU
UB
FG%
.476
.417
3FG%
.391
.355
FT%
.639
.750
RB
39
49
TO
6
13
STL
7
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
10
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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