 OHIO 60, BUFFALO 52
The Bobcats cruised to a 12-0 lead in the first five 5:30 and would never trail. The Bulls found themselves in foul trouble early and often and could not find a rhythm on offense. Mitchell Watt was the only Bull in double figures, leading all scorers with 18 and also adding a career-high 12 rebounds.
Three early triples from Ohio's Nick Kellogg forced a quick timeout from UB, and the Bobcats held the visitors scoreless until the 14:21 mark. The game then evened out, as Ohio also could not seem to find the bottom of the net.
Ohio pushed the lead back up to as high as 11 after the initial run, and Buffalo was able to cut it to four numerous times. But the Bulls could not put together runs due to turnovers -- a total of 11 in the first half.
The Bobcats took a modest 31-25 lead into the half, but the halftime numbers told a story that would prevail throughout the second half, as well. Ohio outrebounded Buffalo 25-16 in the first half (including 11 offensive rebounds) and, more importantly, drew 15 fouls
that sat down Javon McCrea, Dave Barnett, Titus Robinson and Watt for stretches of the half.
As the second half got underway, Buffalo was able to draw within three point, 33-30, with 15:07 remaining. Turnovers prevented the team from getting any closer from there on out, with the Bobcats turning it on for an 11-0 run to claim a double digit
lead. Buffalo put together an 8-1 run as the game drew a close, arguably its best stretch. But that came too late to make a difference.
For the game, Ohio held a 42-39 rebounding advantage (and a 17-10 advantage on the offensive glass). Meanwhile, OU also kept the Bulls' outside threat in check. Zach Filzen went 0-4 from the field and the team as a whole went 2-12 from three.
Aside from Watt's performance, Titus Robinson continued his exemplary play off the bench with nine points and seven rebounds.
Despite having three players with 12 points or more, Ohio struggled even more than Buffalo from the field but took advantage of 27 free throw attempts and Kellogg's four three pointers.
Courtesy of Buffalo Athletics
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