BUFFALO — A shorthanded Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team fell to the Buffalo Bulls on Tuesday, 100-71 at Alumni Arena.
The Falcons, who were down a few players, fall to 8-10 on the season and 2-3 within conference play. BGSU will return to the court on Saturday to host the Miami RedHawks at the Stroh Center as part of a BGSU basketball doubleheader.
Against Buffalo, Leon Ayers III led the Falcons with 23 points, his second consecutive 20-point game. Ayers was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
Chandler Turner went 8-for-17 from the field and added a season-high 17 points and hauled in eight rebounds, including seven on the offensive end of the court. Samari Curtis joined the double-digit scoring efforts with 11.
Buffalo won the opening tip, but the Falcons forced a turnover with Ubongabasi Etim registering his first career steal. The Bulls tallied the first two baskets of the game before BGSU got on the board with an Ayers jumper.
Just before the media break, Rashaun Agee converted a driving layup on the offensive end and followed it up by drawing a charge on the defensive end to bring the first media timeout with the score knotted up at 6-6.
The Falcons worked to a lead with an 11-8 lead, but the Bulls battled back to reclaim the advantage at 14-13 at the next media timeout. The run for Buffalo turned into a 17-3 stretch, including a 9-0 run, to push the Bulls’ lead to 25-14, forcing a timeout from the Bowling Green bench.
Buffalo stayed out in front up to the halftime whistle, taking a 48-33 lead into the break.
Early in the second half, Buffalo put together a 7-0 run to increase their lead to 62-43 at the first media timeout of the half. Out of the timeout, the Bulls’ run continued to grow, reaching 14-0 with their lead at 69-43. The Falcons cut into the Buffalo lead with a 7-0 run to bring the score to 75-54 UB, but got no closer.
“We have to get more effort and we have to play harder. We have to compete more on the defensive end,” BGSU coach Michael Huger said. “It’s not just about scoring, we have to be able to defend way better and compete more. We have too many guys who don’t compete on the defensive end and that’s the difference in the game.”
The Falcons logged 14 assists in the game. With the total, BGSU has now registered 10 or more assists in 13 straight games.
Jackson Watson finished with six points in the game to mark a new career-high. He added a career-high three rebounds. Gabe O’Neal went a season-best 4-of-6 from the free throw line and added career-highs across the rebounding stats with three at both the offensive and defensive ends for six total.
The Falcons will return to the Stroh Center for their next contest, hosting the Miami RedHawks on Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip. The game will be Coaches v. Cancer and will also feature the Performance Dogs of Ohio at halftime.
