Written by Mike Perry

---

Kent State head coach Geno Ford was less than thrilled with the officiating during his team’s humbling 79-54 loss to Buffalo at Alumni Arena. But even if the game was played in the park, under pick-up rules where players call their own fouls, it’s doubtful Ford’s team could have found an answer for Bulls senior guard Byron Mulkey and junior forward Mitchell Watt.

Mulkey hit dagger after dagger from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half while Watt swatted Golden Flashes shots away from the rim like he was playing volleyball and racking up kills. Watt blocked five of his career-high eight shots in the first 20 minutes while Mulkey, who was 5-of-6 from 3-point range against Akron Sunday, connected on an identical 5-of-6 from three in the first half against Kent. Mulkey finished the game with a career-high 27 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Kent, on the other hand, was its own worst enemy all evening. The Golden Flashes turned the ball over 19 times, were 18-of-54 from the floor (33.3%), hit just 4-of-12 3-pointers (33.3%), was killed on the boards (38-22) and allowed the Bulls to shoot a blistering 52% from the floor (26-of-50). Buffalo hit 6-of-15 3-pointers, pulled down 13 rebounds and blocked 10 Kent shots (Kent, on the other hand, did not block a shot).

After trailing by 12 points at halftime, Kent was out-scored 36-23 in the second half.

“We never got anything going on the offensive end and Watt really bothered us inside,” Kent State coach Geno Ford said in one of the biggest understatements in the history of college basketball. ''We tried to challenge him early on, but once he got a few blocks, we began to rush our shots.''

Mulkey finished with a game-high 27 points and ended up hitting 5-of-7 from 3-point range…missing his only triple try in the second half. Kent could not figure out how to stop him in the first 20 minutes, often doubling off him to help down low. Time after Mulkey made them pay for this strategy.

“Every time we tried to help off of him [Mulkey], he just buried us,” Ford said.

The Bulls pushed their lead out to 20 points early in the second half, moved out to a 27-point lead at the 7:54 mark and coasted home from there.

The Golden Flashes were frustrated and dispirited in the second half and never really mounted any kind of a successful comeback attempt.

“They were good on both ends of the floor and forced us into a lot of turnovers that we don't normally have,” Ford said. “They were really sharp and played at such a high level, we would have needed to play really well to beat a team like that on the road.”