| Bulls upend Kent State 64-53 for third straight win |
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| Thursday, January 22 2009 |
Rodney Pierce
BUFFALO, NY - Buffalo kept rolling along on Wednesday night with a 64-53 workmanlike win over Kent State at Alumni Arena. It was the Bulls' third straight win and kept them in a first place tie in the MAC's East Division.
Buffalo (11-5, 3-1 MAC) snapped a seven-game losing skid to the Golden Flashes that dated back to 2004-05 season. The Bulls are off to their best start in conference play since the 2001-02 season.
UB was led by Rodney Pierce who scored 18 points, including four three-pointers. Andy Robinson made his first start of the season after Calvin Betts was unable to start with an injury and scored nine points. Betts did come off the bench to record two points and three rebounds in 19 minutes.
The Bulls' defense limited Kent State to 53 points, its lowest point total in a MAC game this season. Buffalo also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Golden Flashes, 39-29.
The Bulls held a five-point advantage at the half, before extending their lead to 37-28 on an alley oop dunk by Titus Robinson from Greg Gamble that brought the fans to their feet. The play set the tone for the second half and the Bulls built their lead to as many as 14 points before cruising to the 11-point victory.
Although he didn't score in the game, John Boyer played a major role in the victory. The junior point guard had a career-high six assists and three rebounds in 17 minutes. As a team, the Bulls dished out a season-high 17 assists.
The Bulls got solid production from their reserve post players as Jawaan Alston scored a season-high eight points and Vadim Fedotov added six points and three rebounds.
Kent State (8-10, 1-3 MAC) was led by reigning MAC Player of the Year Al Fisher who scored 26 of the Golden Flashes' 53 points.
"I thought we did a good job of recovering from our start," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said referring to the Bulls' seven points in the first nine minutes of the game. "I thought we defended pretty well for most of the game and rebounded pretty well for most of the game."
Courtesy Buffalo Athletic Communications
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