Men’s Hoops uses big second half run in 88-74 road win in Bowling Green

Death, taxes, and hard-to-win road games in the MAC. 96 points in Muncie last weekend didn’t change that today for Men’s Basketball, who slogged through a turnover-heavy first half before riding a 24-4 surge in the second to a tougher-than-the-score-indicates 88-74 win over Bowling Green.

13 turnovers and only 3 assists before the break spoiled 72% shooting from the floor, and UB trailed by three at halftime, 42-39. But the Bulls finished the game still above 60% while committing only 6 turnovers in the second half.

Buffalo got balanced contributions from Blake Hamilton, CJ Massinburg, and Dontay Caruthers, who combined for 55, including a career-high 18 for Caruthers. Willie Conner added 15, but did more damage on the glass with a career-high 12 boards for a quiet double-double, all things considered.

Moving to 7-5 — the first time in three years the team hasn’t been 6-6 at this point — in the MAC, red-hot UB is starting to catch the attention of the rest of the conference as they climb out of the tarpit in the middle of the standings.

UB stays on the road Tuesday for a Valentine’s Day showdown at Central Michigan. The Bulls already have a win over the Chips in their pocket, but as we’ve seen each of the last two years, a 2-0 head-to-head record can go a long way in multi-team tiebreakers come the first week of March.