The Bulls played an outstanding final 20 minutes of the game as Buffalo outscored Le Moyne 52-18 in the second half. Massinburg had nine of his 10 assists in the second as the Bulls assisted on 14 of their 19 baskets in the final half of action.
Buffalo shot nearly 68% from the floor in the second half, and was almost unstoppable from inside the arc, hitting on 17-of-20 shots. The Bulls also hit 12 of their 13 second half free throws.
"I wasn't very happy with our effort in the first half, but I thought in the second half we responded much better," said head coach Nate Oats. "I thought we came out of the locker room a much more mature group of guys that understood it doesn't matter if you are Division I, Division II, ranked, or unranked, you have to play hard or it's not going to happen for you. However, it's nice to learn those lessons and still get a win."
Massinburg's triple-double was the second in school history and the first since Shannon Evans had one against Binghamton on December 30, 2015. Massinburg was 6-of-10 from the floor and also had four steals to go along with his 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. The triple double was the 11th in the nation this year.
Senior Dontay Caruthers led the Buffalo scoring attack on Wednesday with a season-high 20 points as he went 7-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Caruthers also had five assists and a steal.
Fellow senior Nick Perkins finished with 18 points and four rebounds, while classmate Jeremy Harris had 16 points and seven rebounds. Harris went 4-of-5 from behind the arc. Graves finished the night with eight points, four assists, and three offensive rebounds.
The Bulls turned Le Moyne over 22 times, which led to 28 points, while UB also held a big 56-12 edge in points in the paint and a 17-2 lead in second chance points. Buffalo shut Le Moyne out on the fast break, with a 29-0 advantage in those points.
Buffalo will now begin arguably its toughest stretch of the season, playing five of the next six games on the road, which begins this Saturday at Big 4 rival, St. Bonaventure. Tip off is set for 4pm.
(Courtesy of UB Athletics)