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Playing like a veteran, two-time Mid-American Conference champion, the Buffalo Bulls got a road win at Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon, 88-74, and stretched their win streak to four games. The Falcons played like a young and improving team that’s still a work in progress.
The Falcons led for most of the first half and held a lead as large as eight points, before taking a 42-39 lead into the locker room. The Bulls used a 19-2 run midway through the second half to take control of the game. Bowling Green had a 53-52 lead with 14:58 to play, and the next thing you know, Buffalo had a 71-57 with 8:50 to play. That seven minute stretch was basically the ball game.
Buffalo shot a blistering 65% from the field on 33-52 shooting. The Bulls made only five of 14 three-pointers, but shot an amazing 76% inside the arc for the game. Thus, the Bulls outscored the Falcons in the paint 48-22.
The Bulls had a balanced attack with four players scoring in double figures. Senior Blake Hamilton led Buffalo with 19 points. C.J. Massinburg and Dontay Caruthers each added 18, while Willie Conner finished with 15. Conner led the team with 10 rebounds as the Bulls won the battle of the board, 37-28.
Freshman guard Dylan Frye led the Falcons in scoring with 20 points. Senior Zack Denny added 12 points and was the only other player in double figures for Bowling Green. The Falcons shot a respectable 28 of 64 from the field (44%), including 11 of 23 from three-point. But, it was well short of what was needed to keep up with the Bulls’ offensive efficiency.
Falcon big man Demajeo Wiggins led the team with eight rebounds, but only had seven points and attempted only four field goals the entire game. That is entirely too few for a player that has been a double-double machine as of late.
Buffalo continues to improve its seeding for the upcoming MAC Tournament. The Bulls are now 7-5, and tied for second place in the MAC East division with Ohio, and 13-12 overall. The Falcons see their three-game win streak come to an end and now are 5-6 in MAC play and 11-14 overall.
The Bulls will stay on the road and travel to Central Michigan to play the Chippewas on Tuesday night. The Falcons will travel to Western Michigan the same night to take on the Broncos.