Bulls Suffer First Loss of the Season on Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, December 6

Buffalo, N.Y.

2 p.m.

University at Buffalo

8-1,0-0MAC

St. Bonaventure

9-1,0-0Atlantic 10

St. Bonaventure

Buffalo

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics

Bulls Suffer First Loss of the Season on Saturday Afternoon

12/6/2025 5:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

By: Zach Monell

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (8-1, 0-0 MAC) lost their first game of the season at the hands of the visiting St. Bonaventure Bonnies (9-1, 0-0 A10) in front of a crowd of 5,616 in Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon, 77-69. Buffalo's 8-0 start will go down as the second-best start to a season in program history.

This was the biggest crowd in Alumni Arena since March 1, 2022, when the Bulls hosted the Toledo Rockets in front of 5,470 fans.

Ryan Sabol led the Bulls with 21 points, shooting 5-for-10 from three-point range. Daniel Freitag scored 17 points with a career-high seven assists. Angelo Brizzi rounded out the top scorers for Buffalo with 12 points. Tim Oboh secured three steals, a career high.

Buffalo had their most turnovers in a game this season with 17. Of the 17 turnovers, the Bonnies had 13 steals which led to 21 points off of turnovers. St. Bonaventure's well-balanced attack was tough to defend as the Bonnies had six players reach double figures scoring.

The Bulls struggled at the glass as the Bonnies outrebounded the Bulls, 36-21. St. Bonaventure's 17 offensive rebounds led to 14 second chance points.

Buffalo was better from the floor overall as they shot 54.0% to the Bonnies' 46.7%, but free throws were a key difference. Buffalo entered the game as a top-10 team in the NCAA in free throws made and attempted, but they only went 7-for-11 to St. Bonaventure's 12-for-14 from the line.

A slow start by the Bulls gave the Bonnies an early 8-0 lead as Buffalo was forced to call a timeout at the 16:24 mark of the first half. St. Bonaventure took a 14-2 lead after drilling a corner three, but the Bulls fought back. An 18-7 run by the Bulls cut the lead to 21-20 as Brizzi made a three-pointer. Following a shot clock violation, Buffalo had an opportunity to take their first lead of the contest, but failed to make a contested layup. The Bonnies extended their lead to 36-26 with just over two minutes remaining in the half, but the Bulls cut it to 38-32 at the half as Freitag made all three of his free throws after getting fouled on a three-pointer.

Out of the locker room, Freitag made a layup to make it a four-point game. Buffalo made it a one-point game trailing 41-40 with 15:21 left, but failed to take a lead. Trying to fight back, St. Bonaventure's lead was just too much to conquer. The Bonnies' largest lead of the game reached 14 as they held a 67-53 lead with 4:45 remaining. In crunch time, the Bulls cut it to five, but time was not on their side. With both teams in the bonus, the Bonnies held the Bulls off as they made all eight of their free throws in the final 30 seconds to stop Buffalo's comeback.

BUFFALO LEADERS
Ryan Sabol: 21 pts., 5-10 3 PT, 7-7 FT, 2 asst.
Daniel Freitag: 17 pts., 6-10 FG, 4 reb., 7 asst.,
Angelo Brizzi: 12 pts., 2 stl.
Tim Oboh: 6 pts., 5 reb., 3 stl.

TEAM STATS
St. Bonaventure Bonnies: 46.7 FG% (28-of-60), 37.5 3PTFG% (9-of-24), 85.7 FT% (12-of-14), 36 Reb., 20 Asst., 17 TO, 13 Stl., 2 Blk.
Buffalo Bulls: 54.0 FG% (27-of-50), 38.1 3PTFG% (8-of-21), 63.6 FT% (7-of-11), 21 Reb., 14 Asst., 17 TO, 6 Stl., 4 Blk.

The Bulls are back in action on Tuesday as they're on the road at UMBC. Tip-off will be at 5 p.m. on ESPN+.

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