NCAA BK

Bulls hit brick wall

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Updated Nov 17, 2009 9:30 PM ET
     
 
Some of the issues that plagued the University at Buffalo's basketball team last season -- namely its inability to score in crucial moments -- might be a problem again this year. UB's 58-57 season-opening loss to Vermont on Sunday night was eerily similar to some of the Bulls' losses a year ago when they finished 21-12. The Bulls remain hard-hitting defenders -- Vermont shot 33.3 percent for the game -- but offensively, they can be painful to watch. That was the case again Sunday when Bulls guards combined for four field goals against a Catamounts (1-1) team that was playing its second of 10 road games to start the season. If not for the sophomore frontcourt play of Titus Robinson and Mitchell Watt, the game could have gotten out of hand after the Bulls trailed, 50-40, with more than 9 minutes remaining. "We were jittery coming into this game and we weren't very good offensively," UB coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "We took some rushed shots and [got] completely out of sorts. Offensively, we turned the ball over too much in the first half and they played well enough to win." True to form, the Bulls scratched and clawed their way back into it with a swarming defense that took the ball out of the hands of Marqus Blakely, Vermont's leading scorer and the reigning two-time America East Player of the Year. The Bulls tied the game at 57-57 with 41 seconds left on a pretty back-door cut and basket by senior Calvin Betts on a pass from John Boyer. But after Blakely made a free throw with 9.5 seconds left, UB didn't even get a shot toward the rim. Vermont's Nick Vier stole the ball from Watt as time expired. "My man and John Boyer's [man] left me and I dribbled in looking for a handoff," said Watt, who finished with nine points, four rebounds and five blocks. "There was some confusion between me and Rodney on the handoff and I fumbled the ball." Witherspoon said the proper play wasn't executed. Robinson, who produced his first career double-double (16 points, 11 boards) was wide open under the basket. "There was nobody near him," Witherspoon said. "And they didn't pass him the ball." It was a crushing season-opening defeat for the Bulls, who are one of the favorites in the Mid-American Conference after returning four starters, including their leading scorer, Rodney Pierce, the former Hutch Tech guard. This was supposed to be the season in which Witherspoon employed an up-tempo offense that better suits the talent of Boyer, his senior point guard. But the shooting from the backcourt was hideous. Pierce, Boyer, senior Sean Smiley and sophomore Zach Filzen were a combined 4 of 31 from the field and 2 of 14 from three-point range. Pierce (2 of 15) and Filzen (1 of 9) were especially arctic from the floor. The Bulls trailed by 10 with 9:19 left after a three-point basket by Maurice Joseph off an assist by Blakely. Blakely was having his way with the Bulls before they started double teaming him whenever he received the ball in the low post. Not only did that cut off his way to the basket, but also made it more difficult for him to pass. "We started talking more on defense and once we started moving the ball, that's how we worked our way back into the game," Robinson said. A free throw by Robinson pulled the Bulls within a basket at 57-55 then Betts' back-door layup tied it. On a cold shooting night when the Bulls collectively shot 17 of 55 (30 percent) from the field, that was the last basket of the night. e-mail: rmckissic@buffnews.com
Tagged: Vermont, Buffalo

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