Not that it is automatic, and yeah, you're on the road, but you'd like to think you could figure out a way to only lose the rest of the way by 8. It just seems like Akron, Kent, OU, and well, Buffalo, rides that home for a win.
And that was the situation last night at Alumni Arena. BG was up 9 with 9 left. Buffalo took a timeout and went to work, slowly bleeding the BG lead for the next 4:15 until the game they took at 56-55 lead. That represents a 12-3 run for the Bulls, as BG went into a scoring hibernation highlighted by 6 scoreless possessions.
The Falcons did not play an awful game. Coach said they played well enough to win and that might well be true in almost all respects. So, with Buffalo taking the lead with 4:47 left, the place is hopping and loud. In fact, they take a 5 point lead, but the Falcons battle back and the game is tied with 2 minutes left and then Crawford drained a huge 3 to put BG up 3 with 1:34 left.
You'd like to think your team would win a game where they had a 3 point lead with 1:34 left in the game.
But no. Buffalo fed Mitchell Watt for inside hoops on the next two possessions and Calhoun missed a shot in the middle, and Buffalo was up 1 with :35. BG fouled, and Buffalo missed the front end but the Falcons did not box out and the Bulls got the rebound, requiring another foul, and Buffalo split that pair, putting them up 2.
BG still had one last chance. BG called a timeout and ran a wild possession where they actually had three chances to send the game into OT (technically, one was a game-winning 3 attempt), but missed them all, and Buffalo had the win.
Certainly disappointing. BG lost both games to Buffalo and had chances to tie on the final possession in both games. The Falcons did not play a terrible game. Also, in fairness, note that the last 4 minutes were played after Scott Thomas had fouled out. BG played a very solid game...it just wasn't good enough to hold a 9-point lead with 9 to play or a 3 point lead with 1:30 to play.
And that's why BG is playing Monday.
The game was played at the right pace for BG--there were only 60 possessions in the whole game, meaning that, despite the low score, there was actually good offensive productivity. Against a very good defensive team, BG managed 1.07 points per possession, which is pretty good. The Falcons didn't turn the ball over (though Buffalo does not press for turnovers) but had a respectable night shooting and a very good night on the offensive boards.
Sadly, on their end, Buffalo's offense was even better. They picked up 1.13 points per possession, shooting 48% from 2 and 38% from 3. Their turnovers were also decent, so they were getting chances to shoot and making them. And then, the fouls....BG had 18 fouls and Buffalo only had 10, and BG only fouled a couple of times in the last minute, so that's not the source of the difference. Buffalo shot 25 FTs and had a +10 advantage at the line.
BG had no answer for Mitchell Watt, the likely MAC POY. He had 20 points on 7 of 13 shooting, and shot more FTs than the entire Falcon team. Javon McCrea did not have a great night, he was 11/7 in only 26 minutes. Zach Filzen and 3 treys on 9 attempts...and Oldham had 6 assists.
On BG's side, A'uston Calhoun had 23 points. However, he was 9 of 21 shooting to get those 23 points, meaning that a lot of possessions were sacrificed to get that total. Dee Brown had 15 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists and shot 50%. Crawford had 13 points with 3 assists and 3 turnovers...though he did make a huge 3 in the final 90 seconds of the game. He is absolutely unafraid to shoot big shots.
And so, that is how the regular season ends. BG finishes 16-14 overall, 9-7 in the MAC. They get the number 6 seed. Last year, they were the number 7 seed. There will be time in the Spring and Summer to recap how this played out. And, it is, of course, not over. If BG can find the formula to finishing opponents off at the Q like they have been doing at the Stroh, anything could happen, and the view of the season could radically change.
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