BUFFALO, N.Y. – The RIT men's basketball team fell to Division I Buffalo, 80-64, in an exhibition contest Saturday morning at Alumni Arena. The Tigers held their own early, leading by one point midway through the first half before the Bulls pulled away.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- RIT jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind a three-pointer from junior forward Nolan Smith and a jumper plus free throw from first-year guard Xavier Nelson.
- The Bulls responded with a 10-0 run to take the lead before RIT tied the game at 10-10 with free throws from junior guard Zac Ditzel.
- The Tigers led 15-14 with 12:45 remaining when sophomore guard Danny Cohen hit a jumper. Buffalo regained the lead shortly after and did not trail again for the remainder of the game.
- Buffalo closed out the first half on a 38-17 run to take a 50-28 lead into halftime.
- RIT outscored Buffalo 36-30 in the second half, cutting the deficit to 11 points with 1:45 remaining before the Bulls sealed the win.
GAME NOTES
- Josiah Turner, a graduate student forward, led RIT with 13 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and adding three rebounds, one block, and one steal.
- Ditzel scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds, while first-year guard Muhsin Muhammad added eight points and six boards.
- Nelson contributed eight points, including two three-pointers
- RIT shot 46.2 percent from the field (24-of-52), including 5-of-17 from three-point range.
- The Tigers recorded 12 assists, nine steals, and three blocks.
- RIT finished with 26 rebounds and forced 12 Buffalo turnovers.
- Buffalo's Daniel Freitag led all scorers with 27 points, including 14-of-15 from the free throw line.
- The Tigers had three ties and five lead changes in the game.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Tigers make their home debut this Tuesday (Nov. 18) against Geneseo at 6 p.m.
