tatum vs. stetson
Steve Simoneau
78
Winner Buffalo UB 6-0,0-0 MAC
70
VMI VMI 3-5,0-0 SoCon
Winner
Buffalo UB
6-0,0-0 MAC
78
Final
70
VMI VMI
3-5,0-0 SoCon
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Buffalo UB 31 47 78
VMI VMI 33 37 70

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

Buffalo pulls away from Keydets in Fort Myers

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The VMI basketball team battled hard but came up short in the final minutes as Buffalo pulled away late for a 78-70 win over the Keydets Monday afternoon at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in the first game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Fort Myers, Florida.
 
The Keydets (3-5) led by a 33-31 score at halftime and hung with the Bulls (6-0) for much of the second half before Buffalo hit big shots over the final 10 minutes to gradually pull away from VMI to remain undefeated on the young season.
 
The game featured nine lead changes and seven ties in a closely-contested battle.
 
Game Summary
VMI jumped to a quick 5-0 lead to surprise the Bulls from the start and kept pace with Buffalo the entire first half. The Keydets could not pull away by more than four points, however, as both teams took turns grabbing the lead before the game was tied at 25-all with 2:59 before the break. A TJ Johnson three pulled VMI ahead, 31-27, and the Keydets went into halftime with an encouraging 33-31 advantage.
 
TJ Johnson made three treys en route to 14 points in the opening half, which turned out to be an exact half of his total output as he finished the contest with a game-high 28 points and matched his career-best six threes in a single game. Noah Batchelor and Angelo Brizzi countered with nine points apiece for the Bulls.
 

 
A pair of Mario Tatum, Jr. free throws put the score at 48-46 in the Keydets' favor midway through the second half, but the Bulls took charge from there when Ezra McKenna made a layup at the 8:28 mark to put the Bulls ahead, 49-48, a lead they would not give away again. Buffalo led by as many as 15 points late in the game to build an insurmountable advantage over the final minutes.
 
Key Stats
*After Johnson's 28 points, Tan Yildizoglu and Mario Tatum, Jr. also logged double figures with 11 points apiece
*VMI earned 18 second-chance points to 10 for the Bulls and outgained production from the bench by a 24-16 count. Buffalo countered with 14 fast-break points to just five for VMI and had 26 points in the paint to 24 for VMI
*After VMI led 33-31 at the break, the Bulls outscored the Keydets by a 47-37 margin in the second half to earn the neutral site win
 

 
Up Next
VMI will participate in its second and final game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off Wednesday at 11 a.m. when the Keydets will take on another MAC opponent in Bowling Green








 
 
 
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