Western New York “Big 4” Talk)
By Paul Gotham
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Xavier Ford poured in a career-high 25 as the University of Buffalo Bulls easily defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes, 80-55 in Mid-American Conference action at Alumni Arena, Friday night.
Ford connected on 9 of 14 from the floor including 3 of 6 behind the arc.
“I knew it was a big game coming in,” Ford said. “Obviously, they’re a good team. They’re number one on our side of the conference. I just wanted to go out there and impact the team in the game in ways that I felt like I could.”
The senior forward keyed a 6-0 run midway through the first half to give the Bulls their first double-digit lead of the night. He converted a pair of free throw before following Lamonte Bearden in transition for a putback slam. At the other end Ford gathered a loose ball and led Shannon Evans into the open floor for a layup.
“We’re a whole different team when we get out and run,” Ford said. “We obviously can do things in the half court, but we’re much more exciting and better because we got guards like Shannon Evans and Lamonte Bearden pushing it and finding guys and making it easier for us.”
UB led 25-15 with 8:11 remaining before the intermission.
Ford extended the advantage to 15 when he grabbed a defensive rebound and went the length of the floor for a basket.
“For me the night was about Xavier Ford,” UB coach Bobby Hurley said. “He was a star out there tonight. The stuff he was doing, hitting the threes, putbacks, getting out in open court and playing. He really ignited everything that we did tonight.”
In this his second start, Ford closed the first half with a dunk as UB took a 45-25 lead into the locker room.
“He’s the same guy,” Hurley added. “I think he’s just getting a few more minutes and little more confidence early in the game to get going. It’s not always easy coming off the bench. You have to make an impact quickly, and he had been doing that all year. I felt like I needed to see him out on the court.”
Ford and the Bulls picked up where they left off early in the second. The 6-8 forward hit back-to-back catch-and-shoot threes, and the rout was on.
“I see it every day in practice,” Shannon Evans said of his teammate. “To me, it was just like a normal day. I knew he could do that, so it wasn’t a real, big surprise to me. But I loved it. I loved the energy of him making shots. I was getting hyped up. I love it.”
UB converted 14 Kent State turnovers into a 25-8 advantage in points off those miscues.
“The plan was to get stops on defense and play in transition,” Evans stated. “When we play in transition, Coach Hurley doesn’t have to call a play for one of us. We just play, share the ball. Everybody’s playing unselfish. We all put up numbers, so it’s great.”
Ford equaled his season’s output with the three trifecta.
“Different games call for different situations,” Ford explained. “We watched a lot of scout, and I noticed how their bigs played. I just let my game take over, and I took what the defense gave me.”
The Bulls as a team hit 8 of 22 behind the arc.
“When we’re making shots, that makes it easier for me and Lamonte to penetrate and kick out and penetrate and dump down,” Evans commented. “Xavier, you know, he broke the seal. When that first three went down, I knew it was going to be a big game.
The loss snapped Kent State’s six-game winning streak. The Golden Flashes came in holding opponents under 60 points a game. UB’s 80 marks the highest allowed by Kent State this season.
“It snowballed on us,” said Kent State coach Rob Senderoff. “They had a lot to do with that. They had a lot of guys play well…For us 80 isn’t a number we can’t get.”
Evans finished with 12 on 5 of 9 shooting. He shared game-high assist honors of four with teammate Rodell Wiggington.
Justin Moss, the MAC’s leading scorer, chipped in 13 for UB. He grabbed nine rebounds as did Ford.
The Bulls dished out 18 assists on 30 made field goals. The Bulls committed just nine turnovers.
Jimmy Hall led Kent State with 16 points.
UB led for 35:18. The Bulls held a 36-22 advantage on points in the paint. The Bulls also tallied 24 second-chance points to Kent State’s 17. UB also outscored their counterparts 8-3 on the fast break.
Kent State’s bench got the better of it, 21-15.
The game was broadcast on ESPNU and played in front of a crowd of 5,797.
“When we got our stops early in the game, we were able to run and get some easy baskets and get the crowd into the game,” Hurley noted. “They (the crowd) were terrific. I hope that I continue to coach games with that type of turnout. It was an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Buffalo travels to Ball State next Wednesday for a 7 pm tipoff.
Kent State plays at Western Michigan on Wednesday.
The two teams meet again on February 28th at Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
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