FOLLOW OHIO MEN'S BASKETBALL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Gamebook (PDF)

ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball team (13-7, 9-5 MAC) saw its six-game winning streak snapped with an 86-66 loss to Buffalo (12-7, 10-5 MAC) on Saturday (February 27) afternoon at the Convocation Center. 

"I give Buffalo a lot of credit," said second-year head coach Jeff Boals. "We didn't match their energy level to start the game. The keys going in were to take care of the basketball, and we had 14 turnovers in the first half." 

Buffalo dominated in the paint, outscoring Ohio by a 52-36 count. Turnovers proved costly for the Bobcats, as they gave up 14 in the first half. The Bulls scored 17 points off the giveaways from Ohio.

Three Bobcats scored in double figures in the loss. Sophomore forward Ben Roderick (Powell, Ohio) led all Ohio players with 15 points and added four rebounds. Sophomore guard Lunden McDay (Akron, Ohio) added 10 points, sinking all four of his free throw attempts. Junior guard Jason Preston (Orlando, Fla.) scored 10 points and added five boards and six assists.  

Buffalo won the tip and scored first. Roderick was quick to respond with a jumper, sparking a flurry of back-and-forth baskets. A 9-0 run by Buffalo gave the Bulls an 18-8 lead at the under-12 media timeout. Buffalo piled on the points with a 15-2 run, extending the lead to 38-15 with 6:07 remaining. Ohio began battling back, stringing together an 11-0 run that included back-to-back threes from Roderick and Preston. The Bobcats were outscored 14-6 in the last four minutes of the half, though, and trailed 52-32 at halftime. 

"We ran into a team that was ready," said Boals. "They threw the first punch, and we didn't respond. It's an unforgiving league. We need to get ready for Kent State. It starts tonight." 

Ohio opened second half scoring by scoring the first six points. Buffalo was quick to counter, however, and outscored the Bobcats 19-4 to push their lead to 71-42 with 10:58 remaining in the second half. Ohio outscored the Bulls 15-6 over the final 5:08 of the game, but it wasn't enough as the Bobcats fell by 20 points.

"Sometimes adversity is good," said Preston. "We'll take this, we'll learn from this. Hopefully we see them again in Cleveland." 

The Bobcats travel to northeast Ohio for a rematch with Kent State on Tuesday (March 2). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET inside the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.

#OUOhYeah