KENT, OHIO – The Buffalo Bulls rebounded from their first Mid-American Conference loss of the season Friday night, scoring 10 of the last 11 points to defeat the Kent State 88-79 at the MAC Center before a near sellout crowd of 5,133 and a national television audience.
Buffalo (18-2, 6-1 MAC) picked up its first win at KSU since January 17, 2017 and UB has now won 10 of the last 12 games in the series.
“It was a tough hard fought road win.” Bulls head coach Nate Oats said. “Those type of wins don’t come by easy in the MAC. Kent State came to play.”
The game was back and forth in the second half. However, after the Flashes closed the deficit to three, 78-75, with 4:11 left in regulation, Buffalo put the game away on a pair of slam dunks. The first came from senior Jeremy Harris and the second from fellow senior CJ Massinburg.
Massinburg and senior Nick Perkins led the Bulls with 20 points each. Perkins went 8-of-11 from the field while grabbing eight rebounds and three assists. Massinberg was 6-of-12 from the floor with eight boards, three assists and three steals.
Kent State (15-5, 4-3) saw a three-game MAC winning streak come to an end and is 1-2 against the Eastern Division.
“It was a great game.” KSU head coach Rob Senderoff said. “For 37 minutes, we played well enough to win. In the final three minutes, they (the Bulls) made the plays you need to make to win the game.”
Senior Jaylin Walker played all 40 minute and led all scorers in the contest with 21 points, adding eight rebounds and three steals. Junior Phillip Whittington had 18 points and 13 rebounds -- his fifth double-double of the season. Senior Jalen Avery scored 13 while hitting three from beyond the arc.
Walker came into the game leading the conference in scoring. So far this season, has played 15 games and has reached double digits in every one of them.
“We weren’t ready to play at the tip tonight.” Oats said.
Despite the hosts good start, UB kept its poise. Buffalo started slowly, nibbling away at the KSU lead and closing to 42-41 at the 2:30 mark when junior Davonta Jordan hit one of two free throws.
It briefly appears the Bulls would actually take a lead into the locker room at intermission. With KSU leading 43-42 Jordan drove to the basket in the final second. His shot fell into the basket, but after officials viewed a video replay, they ruled the buzzer beat Jordan's release.
Buffalo still had a chance for points as KSU freshman Anthony Roberts was called for a foul on the play. However, Jordan missed both free throws and the Flashes kept the lead at the intermission.
When asked what he saw on the play, Oats said “It was a good call (by the officials) the ball was in his hand when the buzzer went off, The foul happened in the active shooting before the buzzer. If we had a (full) second on the clock it would have been an and one.”
After ending the first off on a mini run, Buffalo carried its momentum into the start of the second period. It was a 14-2 spurt that spanned both halves, earning the Bulls their first lead of the game and extending their advantage to five 49-44 on layup by Massinburg.
As in their overtime win over Toledo Wednesday, KSU bounced back and went out to a five-point lead, 62-56, with 11:35 remaining on a driving layup by Roberts, who finished the game with nine points.
UB then scored 10 unanswered points to regain the upper hand 66-63 with 9:08 remaining when Massinburg hit two of three foul shots.
This time it was KSU that chipped away at its deficit, tying the game 73-73 with 5:22 remaining when Avery hit a pair of free throws. However, the Bulls took the lead for good when Perkins hit a three from the right arc.
A put-back layup by Whittington at the 4:11 mark made the score 78-75, the closest Kent State would get for the remainder of the game.
“We played 30 minutes of pretty good basketball offensively. I thought our toughness and defense, along with our maturity and experience, got us through tonight.” Oats said.
Statistically, both teams shot the ball well from the floor. UB finished the game at 53.2 (33-of-62) while KSU shot 43.5 percent (30-of-69). The Flashes won the rebound battle 40-37. UB dominated on the break, scoring 29 points. Buffalo also had an advantage in the paint, out-scoring the hosts 46 to 36.
Both teams return to action Tuesday night. Buffalo is home to battle Ball State, while Kent State heads to Western Michigan to meet the Broncos for the second time this season.