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Published Dec 9, 2021
Western Kentucky falls short 77-67 to Buffalo in homestand finale
Drew Toennies  •  InsideHilltopperSports
Staff Writer
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@drew_toennies
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Western Kentucky (5-4) fell short 77-67 to Buffalo (5-3) in the conclusion to the team's five-game home stand on Wednesday night.

The Bulls were the preseason MAC favorite and one of the more experienced teams in the country. Buffalo sank 13 three-pointers and outrebounded the Hilltoppers 42-28 with 17 offensive rebounds and 13 second-chance points.

Tonight's loss snapped the Hilltoppers' four-game winning streak on their home court.

“Give Buffalo a lot of credit. They came in and I thought they were really good. Two areas, we were really concerned about. One area was rebounding the basketball. That’s a strength of their team, particularly when you play some zone that’s really a weakness."
Rick Stansbury

Sophomore guard Dayvion McKnight led the Hilltoppers with 18 points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Senior forward Jairus Hamilton returned to the lineup after missing Saturday's game against Eastern Kentucky. He struggled offensively in the first half, but turned things around in the second half to finish with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Graduate guard Camron Justice chipped in 14 points, three rebounds and three steals.

“We weren’t really boxing out. For us, I feel like if we would’ve done a fundamental boxout, we’d have had limited their offensive rebounds. We were just trying to outjump them and obviously that didn’t work."
Dayvion McKnight

Buffalo was led by senior forward Josh Mballa who finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Senior guard Ronaldo Segu was also one of the Bulls' top contributors with 18 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

Senior guard Maceo Jack had 14 points and two assists.

“Learn from our mistakes, that’s the only thing you can do. It’s still early in the season. Take this, look at it tonight, dwell on it a little bit and then tomorrow starts a new day for a new preparation for a new game.”
Camron Justice
Western Kentucky Shooting Stats (Final stats)
FG%FG3F%3FFT%FT

47%

28-60

18%

3-17

73%

8-11

Despite a solid performance in the first half, the Hilltoppers struggled on the offensive end, falling behind after an offensive surge by Buffalo in the second half. The Hilltoppers additionally had 12 turnovers, 13 points off turnovers, 28 rebounds and nine assists.

Buffalo Shooting Stats (Final stats)
FG%FG3F%3FFT%FT

46%

31-68

39%

13-33

50%

2-4

Buffalo controlled the floor offensively in the second half while also dominating the Hilltoppers in rebounding 42-28. The Bulls also had 16 turnovers, 12 points off turnovers and 16 assists.

“… You chop that up, and a big stat then, they make 13 3s and we make three. That’s a lot of things to overcome right there. 30 points difference at the 3-point line. And then offensive rebounding. And we were still right there but didn’t have that mental edge. But give them credit. Buffalo played well tonight and made shots.”
Rick Stansbury

Although Buffalo put the first two points on the board off a layup, sophomore guard Sherman Brashear returned fire early with a made layup of his own. At the 15:00 mark of play, WKU held an 11-8 lead over Buffalo was five of their last five shots from the field.

At 7:57, the Hilltoppers had been on a scoring drought for the last 2:30 of play while the Bulls had made four of their last five shots to tie the game 20-20 with an 8-0 run.

At 4:58, Buffalo pulled ahead after two consecutive three-point shots by Maceo Jack gave Buffalo a 30-25 lead.

Buffalo held a 40-35 lead by halftime.

Justice led the Hilltoppers at halftime with nine points, three rebounds and one steal.

McKnight finished off the first half as WKU’s second-highest scorer with eight points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Junior center Jamarion Sharp led the team in rebounding as he contributed seven points, five rebounds and one block.

The Bulls’ offense was led by Jack who had 11 points and one rebound alongside Segu who also posted 11 points. Segu additionally posted four rebounds, four assists and one steal.

Western Kentucky Shooting Stats (Halftime stats)
FG%FG3F%3FFT%FT

48%

15-31

22%

2-9

60%

3-5

The Hilltoppers turned the ball over seven times, recorded seven points off turnovers, 16 rebounds and six assists in the first half.

Table Name
FG%FG3F%3FFT%FT

50%

17-34

40%

6-15

0%

0-2

The Bulls won the rebound battle in the first half as they outrebounded the Hilltoppers 18-16. Buffalo also had seven turnovers, eight points off turnovers and eight assists.

The Hilltoppers matched Buffalo’s explosive offense in the first half, but were unable to put it together in the second half. At the 10:34 mark, Buffalo was in the midst of an 11-0 run over the last 1:49 of play while the Hilltoppers struggled from the field.

WKU cut Buffalo's deficit to 68-63 with 5:06 remaining after a Jamarion Sharp dunk, but the Bulls would proceed to go on a 7-0 run to put the game away to give the Hilltoppers their first home loss of the season.

Western Kentucky takes on Ole Miss in Atlanta, Georgia this upcoming Saturday in the Holiday Hoopsgiving tournament. The tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

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