Ohio 92, Purdue Northwest 72
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BUFFALO, NY – Buffalo snapped its two-game losing streak on Thursday as the Bulls defeated Mercyhurst, 81-64, in their home opener at Alumni Arena. Nine Bulls found the scoring column as UB evened its record to 2-2.
TRANSFER DEBUTS
Four players scored in doubles figures as the Bulls got a huge boost with the addition of senior transfer Keishawn Brewton, who became eligible Wednesday. Brewton notched 11 points in his Buffalo debut.
In addition, two UB players notched double-doubles, including Jayvon Graves. He finished just shy of the triple-double with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. Junior Jeenathan Williams led all scorers with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
LAKERS OPENER
The Lakers, who were seeing their first live action of the season, got out to a quick start and opened the game on a 7-2 run. UB quickly went on a 9-0 run and never looked back. Brewton scored five straight points, including his first UB three-pointer, opening the lead to 29-17 with 8:33 left.
Leading 36-25, the Bulls went on an 11-2 run as another Bull seeing his first career action, David Skogman, hit the layup which extended the lead to 47-27. Graves put the Bulls into the break, up 50-29 on a late three-pointer. The 50 points were the most scored in a half by UB this season.
LARGEST LEAD
Buffalo took its largest lead of the game in the second half on a layup from Ronaldo Segu, putting the Bulls ahead 60-36 with 14:08 left. Mercyhurst never got any closer than within 16.
As a team, the Bulls had 24 assists, including 15 of those in the first half. The Bulls also held a big advantage on the glass, 43-29.
Segu also finished in double figures with 12 points and five assists. David Nickelberry and LaQuill Hardnett each finished with seven points, while Tra'von Fagan had eight points and four boards.
ATHENS, Ohio -- A pair of double-doubles by junior guard Jason Preston and senior forward Dwight Wilson III. propelled Ohio (4-1) to a 92-72 victory over Division II Purdue Northwest inside the Convocation Center on Thursday afternoon.
Ohio had five players notch double digit points in the win. Preston scored 22 points, dishing out 11 assists and adding three rebounds. Wilson III tallied 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Redshirt junior forward Ben Vander Plas finished the day with 13 points, 7 rebounds, and six assists. Sophomore guard Lunden McDay scored 14 points as he went 4-of-8 from the field, 1-of-4 from three-point range, and 5-of-6 from the line.
Off the bench, sophomore guard Miles Brown notched a career-high 11 points, going 4-of-6 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range, and 2-of-3 from the line, while adding three steals. Freshman forward Sam Towns earned his first start of his collegiate career, scoring two points while adding four rebounds and two assists.
For Purdue Northwest, Jyrus Freels had 19 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
The Pride owned a 40-36 halftime advantage, but Ohio came roaring ouf the the locker room with a 17-3 run to take control.
"I thought the second half, Miles Brown, was probably the difference in the game from an energy standpoint, effort standpoin," head coach Jeff Boals offered. "It really turned the tide defensively. I thought it was the tale of two halves. I thought they dictated the first half and I thought we dictated the second half."
Overall, Ohio shot 53 percent from the field, 26 percent from three-point range, and 14-of-23 from the line, while Purdue Northwest shot 44 percent from the field, 41 percent from three, and 11-of-17 from the free throw line. The Bobcats forced 18 turnovers, scoring 17 points, while only turning over the ball nine times.