Men’s basketball (1-1) defeated the University of North Texas (1-1), 69-66, Monday night at the UNT Coliseum in Denton, TX.
After shooting 1-of-8 in his UB debut against Michigan, senior guard Maceo Jack led the team in scoring with 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range. The former George Washington sharpshooter showed why he ranked second in the Atlantic 10 Conference in three pointers just two seasons ago, hitting multiple big shots from deep in the back-and-forth affair.
The Bulls continued to run their offense through senior forward Jeenathan Williams, who made his presence felt all night with a well-rounded 14 points, six rebounds and six assists.
Senior point guard Ronaldo Segu had another impressive performance, contributing 17 points and four assists while shooting 64% from the field. Senior forward Josh Mballa rounded out UB’s “Big 3” with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Segu injected some much-needed life into the UB offense in the first half, scoring eight points in a two-minute span. Mballa hit two free throws to give the Bulls a two-point lead with a little less than six minutes remaining in the half.
However, North Texas senior guard Mardrez McBride pushed the Mean Green up four at the half with three three-pointers in a row.
The tide shifted in the second half, when North Texas went on a 10-1 run to take an 11-point lead with 8:51 remaining.
But the Bulls responded, and in the final eight minutes of the game, UB hit 5-of-9 three pointers to end the game on a 15-6 run and secure a 69-66 victory on the road.
The Bulls got hot at the right time and picked up a win in a gutsy performance against a quality opponent. North Texas is the defending Conference USA champs and upset No. 4 seed Purdue in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
UB will return to Buffalo for its first home game of the season against the Rider Broncos (2-1) Saturday. The game will be aired on ESPN3.
The sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Ryan Hagen | UB Athletics
