A tale of two juxtaposing seasons was displayed on Tuesday night at Alumni Arena when the Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team squared off against Mid-American Conference East Division foe, the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Bulls entered the contest dead last in the division while the Golden Flashes came in with sole possession of first-place.

Unfortunately for Buffalo, the trend would carry over into the two teams match-up as they fell, 76-66.

Kent State led the entire game, racing out of the gates to open on a 12-4 run during the first three minutes and 30 seconds of action. The Golden Flashes extended their lead to double-digits by the 9:24 mark on a dunk by forward Haminn Quaintance to go up 24-14. KSU extended its lead to as much as 19 on two occasions in the first half before going into halftime with a 15 point cushion, up 41-26.

"I think Kent State played a good game," said Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "They played with a sense of urgency that we got hit in the mouth with. Our guys need to learn from that."

The Golden Flashes extended their lead to 19 again within the first minute and 30 seconds of the second half which preceded a number of runs that would encompass most of the second stanza. The Bulls responded by going on a 15-5 run to cut the KSU advantage down to nine countered by Kent State with a 12-6 run to go up 66-47.

"Buffalo's a very good team at home," said Kent State head coach Jim Christian. "They made some difficult shots and every time they made a run, our guys stayed poised and that's what you have to do."

UB made one last effort rallying off a 15-4 run to cut down Kent State's lead to eight with 2:40 left in the game but would not chip away any deeper into KSU's advantage for the rest of the game.

The Bulls committed more turnovers in the game with 17 compared to Kent State's 10. Buffalo also found itself on the wrong side of the steals category with the Golden Flashes recording 15 while UB only made five.

"Before the ball should come out, blood should come out," Witherspoon said. "But before you realize it the ball will come out and you will be the one bleeding...By the time you figure that out and there are two defenders than its too late."

Junior guard Andy Robinson had a team-high 17 points in the losing effort while sophomore guard Calvin Betts posted his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort.

KSU was paced by guard Al Fisher who recorded game-highs with 20 points and six assists.