Published: January 23, 2008 11:31 pm      

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Big Bobcat burns Bulls again

AMHERST — Leave it to Leon Williams to crush the Buffalo’s hopes.

The Bulls were on the verge of their first Mid-American Conference championship March 12, 2005, when Williams, then a freshman at Ohio, converted a putback with less than a second left.

The big Bobcat made the big play again Wednesday night, just as UB seemed to be gaining enough momentum to secure its first MAC win of the 2007-08 season.

Williams’ deflected a ball away from UB’s Byrom Mulkey (Niagara-Wheatfield) while running back on defense, leading to a Jerome Tillman dunk that effectively sealed Ohio’s 68-59 win at Alumni Arena.

“That was huge,” UB coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “A four-point swing in a game that’s that tightly played; those and missed free throws, when you’re chasing somebody down, it kind of lets them off the hook.

The Bulls (6-11, 0-5 MAC) came back from a 13-point deficit in the second half to get within one point on two occasions and seemed poised to make it a one-possession game late before Williams’ steal. Instead, they extended a six-game losing streak.

Andy Robinson was the lone Bull in double figures, hitting four 3-pointers on his way to 23 points. Calvin Betts added nine points and seven rebounds.

“I just got out there and started playing hard for my team,” Robinson said. “Offense and defense, it was kind of rolling.”

“We passed it better,” Witherspoon added. “We only had two turnovers in the second half. I think when we pass it better, we have a chance to shoot it better.”

The Bulls had several chances to tie or take the lead with less than eight minutes to go, and, Witherspoon said, were able to get the shots they wanted. Sean Smiley, who was already in a shooting slump before taking a first-half hit that required stitches in his left arm and twisted one of his ankles, missed an open 3-pointer and a contested pull-up 18-footer on consecutive possessions.

On the next trip down, Robinson threw up a wild shot while falling down.

“We also made a concerted effort to drive the ball to the basket,” Witherspoon said. “Now that won’t show when it says we shot 12 free throws.

“I’ll just leave that alone.”

Though the crowd of 2,059 was far smaller than the blood-thirsting group that greeted Williams when he returned as a sophomore, Ohio coach Tim O’Shea reiterated his long-standing opinion that UB holds one of the best home-court advantages in the MAC.

The Bobcats seemed intent on feeding the ball to Williams inside, looking to exploit a frontline that lost center Vadim Fedotov to a season-ending knee injury and will be without forward Kambi Laleye for at least two more weeks due to a stress fracture in his foot believed to have happened Dec. 21 in Texas.

Bert Whittington IV led Ohio with 22 points. He hit five 3-pointers, several of which answered UB baskets. Tommy Freeman had 13 points, going 3-for-4 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

Williams finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Tillman just missed a double-double as well, scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds. The Bobcats outrebounded the Bulls 39-28.

“I thought they’re experience off the glass really hurt us,” Witherspoon said. “They asserted themselves around the basket, so we had to pay so much attention to them, and they hit some shots on the perimeter that hurt us.”

Williams said he still thinks about his MAC championship moment from time to time — usually before playing Buffalo — but is more focused on making another memory.

“Leon makes all kinds of plays,” O’Shea said, “that make me look like a good coach.”

Contact reporter Jonah Bronstein at 282-2311, ext. 2258.