Tale of Two Halves in Athens, Bulls Fall to Bobcats

Saturday, January 10

Athens, Ohio

2 p.m.

University at Buffalo

13-3,3-1MAC

Ohio

10-7,4-1MAC

Buffalo

Ohio

Photo by: Dani Fey | UB Athletics

Tale of Two Halves in Athens, Bulls Fall to Bobcats

1/10/2026 7:04:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

By: Zach Monell

ATHENS, Ohio – In front of a ruckus crowd in the Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon, the University at Buffalo men's basketball team (13-3, 3-1 MAC) fell to the home Ohio Bobcats (10-7, 4-1 MAC), 91-80. Ohio's comeback was fueled by a second half where they outscored the Bulls by 14.

Angelo Brizzi led the Bulls with 18 points and a game-high four steals. Ryan Sabol added 17 points and five rebounds as Daniel Freitag scored 16 points. Derrick Talton Jr. was good for eight points, three assists, as well as a pair of three-pointers. Talton had one made three-pointer on the season headed into today's contest.

Ohio's offense was hard to stop as they shot 59.6% from the field. Their physical presence in the paint as felt as they scored 48 points to Buffalo's 36. The Bobcats' 48 points in the paint as the most Buffalo has allowed this season.

The Bulls entered the game having four consecutive games with 10+ made three-pointer, but the streak ended as they were 8-for-25 on the day.

The early momentum swung in favor of the Bobcats as they took a 9-4 lead 2:55 into the contest. The Bulls tied the game at 15 and 17 before Ezra McKenna giving them the first lead of the game at 20-17 after drilling a corner three. The Bulls held their largest lead of the contest at 36-26 with 6:12 to go in the half. Ohio clawed their way back as they held the Bulls to 2-for-8 from the field headed into the half. Buffalo led 47-44 at the break.

Tim Oboh extended Buffalo's lead to 49-47 on their opening possession with a dunk. However, Ohio slowed the Bulls down. The Bobcats came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. They forced the Bulls to turn the ball over four times in the first seven minutes. Buffalo ended up with 11 total turnovers, but in just the second half, the Bobcats outscored UB, 16-6, in points off of turnovers. Ohio used a 21-8 run to take a 65-55 lead with 13:27 left in the half. In the tough road environment, the Bulls could not keep pace with the Bobcats. The Bulls tried to chip away at Ohio's lead as they cut it to nine with 9:10 remaining, but missed opportunities allowed Ohio to take home 91-80 victory.

BUFFALO LEADERS
Angelo Brizzi: 18 pts., 3 reb., 8-16 FG, 2 asst., 4 stl., 1 blk.
Ryan Sabol: 17 pts., 5 reb., 2 asst., 7-8 FT
Daniel Freitag: 16 pts., 3 reb.
Derrick Talton Jr.: 8 pts., 3 asst.

TEAM STATS
Ohio Bobcats: 59.6 FG% (34-of-57), 35.3 3PTFG% (6-of-17), 85.0 FT% (17-of-20), 39 Reb., 15 Asst., 18 TO, 7 Stl., 4 Blk.
Buffalo Bulls: 43.3 FG% (29-of-67), 32.0 3PTFG% (8-of-25), 63.6 FT% (14-of-22), 26 Reb., 10 Asst., 11 TO, 10 Stl., 3 Blk.

The Bulls are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 13^th as they host the Kent State Golden Flashes at 2 p.m.

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