After posting victories in their previous two contests, the Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team was unable to win its third in a row, falling to the Ball State Cardinals on Wednesday night at Alumni Arena, 76-67.

"(Ball State) outworked us, out hustled us," said Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "They deserved to win and we didn't. We played flat."

Ball State controlled much of the first half, with the Bulls only able to secure the lead once in the entire contest on a layup by freshman forward Jawaan Alston at the 18:20 mark to go up, 3-2. The Cardinals eventually pulled away by going on a 9-2 run mid-way through the first half. BSU extended its lead to as much as 11 on two separate occasions in the first half, going into halftime up 40-29.

"(Ball State) played a small lineup of guys that run hard and fast and we didn't look like we could keep up with the pace," Witherspoon said.

Much of Buffalo's struggles in the first stanza came due in part to being outshot by Ball State. UB hit just 32.1 percent of their shots in the first half while the Cardinals nailed a hot 59.1 percent of their baskets with a great deal of these points coming off fast breaks.

The Bulls narrowed down the Cardinals lead to as little as three early in the second half, on a layup by sophomore forward Kambi Laleye two minutes in. However, the Cardinals responded a few minutes later by going on a 10-2 run capped off by layup by guard Laron Frazier to go up 57-41, its biggest advantage of the game.

"I was really proud of the way our kids battled tonight," said Ball State head coach Billy Taylor. "I thought we showed more energy in the beginning of the game and continued all the way through."

Senior guard Peyton Stovall had a game-high 22 points while junior forward Anthony Newell recorded a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Newell also led the team in assists with six.

Buffalo was led by sophomore guard Calvin Betts who scored 12 points while junior guard Andy Robinson also netted 10 and sophomore forward Max Boudreau contributing with 11 points. Junior guard Greg Gamble led the team in boards with eight and also posted a game-high three steals.

UB next faces Miami (Ohio) at Alumni Arena on Friday with tipoff at 7:00 p.m.