Last Minute Run Gives Ohio Victory

The Ohio Bobcats went on a 16–2 run over the last two minutes (11–0 in the last 55 seconds) to erase an 11 point Buffalo lead, and give the Bobcats a 84–81 victory. The Bobcat’s full court pressure confounded the Bulls, who did not score a basket in the last two minutes, and committed five turnovers during that time.

Buffalo is now 8–4 overall and 5–2 in the MAC.

The Bulls went on their own 18–0 run late in the third quarter and continuing on into the fourth quarter to open up a a 13 point lead. They maintained the 13 point lead with 4 minutes left on a lay-up by junior forward Ade Adeyeye. And then Ohio came charging back.

A turnover by UB junior guard Jazmine Young at 0:33 left gave Ohio a chance to take the lead, trailing by two. Ohio’s Cece Hooks drove down the lane, passed into the right corner to a wide open Kaylee Bambule, who swished a three pointer (her only shot attempt of the game). With 14 seconds left, Buffalo got the ball and senior guard Hanna Hall’s running bank shot barely rolled off the rim and Ohio rebounded and scored one more basket to seal the victory.

The loss came despite strong performances from many UB players, one of whom you might be surprised to hear about. Junior center Zena Elias led the team in rebounding with 13 boards, her career high, blowing up her previous career high of 3 rebounds. She also set a career high with 18 minutes played and a career high of 2 assists (the first two assists of her Buffalo career).

Adeyeye seems to have recovered from the injury to her right shoulder suffered about a month ago. She went 8-for-10, scored 16 points and added 5 rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore center Elea Gaba went 5-for-8 and had 6 rebounds. Hall finished with 11 points, freshman guard Cheyenne McEvans had 10 points, and (this one will be no surprise) sophomore guard Dyaisha Fair filled up the box score with 21 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals but also five turnovers.

The Bulls outrebounded Ohio 46–31 (ignoring “team rebounds”). But the Bulls committed 23 turnovers compared to Ohio’s 17.

Notes:

• Fair scored only four points by halftime, facing face-guarding defense from a triangle-and-two Ohio defense. But she picked up her offense after that, as did the rest of the team, until the final two minutes.
• Sophomore forward Loren Christie did not play and was on crutches. She was injured in the team’s previous game.
• You might remember Buffalo had a player named Alexis Adams the last two years, who played in five games in 2018–2019 and did not play at all a year ago. Adams is now the team manager, but since team managers have to wear the face mask during the game, you’d be hard pressed to identify her.