Men’s basketball falls to Buffalo

Rachel Jones|January 20, 2011

Final score Buffalo: 79 Kent State: 54 Game highlights Byron Muley of Buffalo lead all players with 27 points Kent State’s Randal Holdt scored 10 of the first 12 points in the game for a team-high 16 points total Justin Greene scored 15 points for the Golden Flashes.

The Flashes fell to Buffalo 79-54, bringing them to a 2-2 split in the Mid-American Conference.

Although the teams appeared evenly matched and played two, three-minute periods without either team scoring, Kent State coach Geno Ford said the Flashes went downhill “shortly after the tip.”

Kent State made its mark with 18:55 left in the first half, pulling ahead 3-2.

But Buffalo (10-6, 2-2 MAC) regained the lead 30 seconds later and did not let go.

“It was one of those games where we kept fighting uphill the whole time,” Ford said. “We did not make a single run, and that’s the disappointing thing.”

With the seconds slipping off the clock, junior guard Carlton Guyton sank a 3-point jumper, closing Buffalo’s lead to 43-31 at the half.

Just when it looked like new life hit the Kent State bench, Buffalo stretched the gap with its biggest lead of 27 points with 7:55 left in the game.

“We never put them under any game pressure,” Ford said. “They were scoring on us with a high percentage, and then we couldn’t execute anything.”

Scoring with the highest percentage for Buffalo was Byron Mulkey, who totaled 27 points against the Flashes.

Ford said Mulkey, who sank five 3-pointers in the first half, is Buffalo’s key offensive player.

“Every time he got it, he buried us,” Ford said.

Sophomore guard Randal Holt buried the ball for the Flashes with a team-high 16 points. 10 of those made up the first 12 points of the game.