BUFFALO, NY – Behind a 30-point and 14-rebound performance from junior CJ Massinburg the Buffalo Bulls led wire-to-wire in a hard-fought 75-72 road victory at Delaware. In addition to Massinburg's performance, sophomore Davonta Jordan had a career-high 20 points.
Massinburg netted 19 points and . . .
Massinburg netted 19 points and . . .
. . . nine rebounds before the halftime buzzer even sounded to get UB out to the early lead.
The Bulls opened the evening on a 13-2 run as all 13 of the points were scored by either Massinburg or Jordan. That 11-point lead was Buffalo's largest of the first half.
The Bulls led by seven at 23-16 when Delaware scored five straight to pull within a single possession at 23-21 with 6:50 left. Buffalo, however, answered as a three from junior Nick Perkins put the lead back to nine. UB continued to lead by nine late in the half when Delaware's Ryan Daly hit a half court three at the buzzer, sending UB into the break, up 38-32.
After Delaware cut the Buffalo lead to two at 45-43 with 14:20 left, the Bulls scored five straight, capped off on a three from Massinburg to take a 50-43 lead.
UB led by just six with 10:09 remaining when the Bulls scored seven straight. A fast-break dunk from freshman Jayvon Graves gave UB a 64-51 lead with 8:55 left.
A three-point play by Jordan provided Buffalo with its largest lead of the night at 69-55 with 5:52 left, but Delaware answered by going on a 10-0 run, pulling within four.
The Bulls again had an answer, this one including a steal and fast-break dunk from Jeremy Harris with 1:38 left, giving the Bulls the 75-69 lead.
The Blue Hens cut it to four with 38 seconds left and Buffalo missed a few chances at the line to put the game away, but Delaware never got any closer than within three.
"Tonight we were a little short-handed, but our guys fought hard and came away with a gritty road victory," said head coach Nate Oats. "CJ and Davonta were really good offensively, but I thought we got great energy from every guy tonight, even the ones that were unable to play."
Massinburg, who is the reigning MAC East Player of the Week, finished with a season-high 30 points, the second time in his career he has scored at least 30 in a game. The Dallas, TX native went 5-of-6 from three-point range, while also pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds.
Jordan reached the 20-point plateau for the first time in his collegiate career as he had 20 points, going 9-of-12 from the floor. He added five rebounds and four assists. Perkins finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Graves had seven points, all coming in the second half. The freshman also added six rebounds and a pair of assists. Harris had six points and three steals.
The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor for the night, while holding Delaware to under 40 percent from the field. UB also snapped a recent trend of being outrebounded as it pulled down 40 boards, opposed to 36 for the Blue Hens.
Buffalo will return to Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon when the Bulls will face Central Penn at 2pm.
(Courtesy of UB Athletics)
The Bulls opened the evening on a 13-2 run as all 13 of the points were scored by either Massinburg or Jordan. That 11-point lead was Buffalo's largest of the first half.
The Bulls led by seven at 23-16 when Delaware scored five straight to pull within a single possession at 23-21 with 6:50 left. Buffalo, however, answered as a three from junior Nick Perkins put the lead back to nine. UB continued to lead by nine late in the half when Delaware's Ryan Daly hit a half court three at the buzzer, sending UB into the break, up 38-32.
After Delaware cut the Buffalo lead to two at 45-43 with 14:20 left, the Bulls scored five straight, capped off on a three from Massinburg to take a 50-43 lead.
UB led by just six with 10:09 remaining when the Bulls scored seven straight. A fast-break dunk from freshman Jayvon Graves gave UB a 64-51 lead with 8:55 left.
A three-point play by Jordan provided Buffalo with its largest lead of the night at 69-55 with 5:52 left, but Delaware answered by going on a 10-0 run, pulling within four.
The Bulls again had an answer, this one including a steal and fast-break dunk from Jeremy Harris with 1:38 left, giving the Bulls the 75-69 lead.
The Blue Hens cut it to four with 38 seconds left and Buffalo missed a few chances at the line to put the game away, but Delaware never got any closer than within three.
"Tonight we were a little short-handed, but our guys fought hard and came away with a gritty road victory," said head coach Nate Oats. "CJ and Davonta were really good offensively, but I thought we got great energy from every guy tonight, even the ones that were unable to play."
Massinburg, who is the reigning MAC East Player of the Week, finished with a season-high 30 points, the second time in his career he has scored at least 30 in a game. The Dallas, TX native went 5-of-6 from three-point range, while also pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds.
Jordan reached the 20-point plateau for the first time in his collegiate career as he had 20 points, going 9-of-12 from the floor. He added five rebounds and four assists. Perkins finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Graves had seven points, all coming in the second half. The freshman also added six rebounds and a pair of assists. Harris had six points and three steals.
The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor for the night, while holding Delaware to under 40 percent from the field. UB also snapped a recent trend of being outrebounded as it pulled down 40 boards, opposed to 36 for the Blue Hens.
Buffalo will return to Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon when the Bulls will face Central Penn at 2pm.
(Courtesy of UB Athletics)
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