The Associated Press

The Mid-American Conference’s leading scorer, who was held to just four points in a loss at Ohio on Saturday, scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half to lead Marshall past Buffalo 93-61 on Thursday night.

Friday, February 04, 2000

The Mid-American Conference’s leading scorer, who was held to just four points in a loss at Ohio on Saturday, scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half to lead Marshall past Buffalo 93-61 on Thursday night.

Slay hit 10-of-18 shots from the floor, including 6-of-10 in the second half, as Marshall broke a two-game losing streak.

”The first half I didn’t play well, but that’s basketball and you just have to keep after it every game,” Slay said.

Slay scored eight points during a 15-2 run to open the second half as Marshall pushed a 10-point halftime lead to 56-33 with 15:50 left.

”Slay impressed me very, very much,” said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon. ”He does a lot of things well, such as getting to the basket. He has great court vision.”

The Thundering Herd (15-6, 7-5 Mid-American) led by as many as 35 points on a J.R. VanHoose layup with 4:36 left.

Marshall held a 47-32 rebounding advantage and outshot Buffalo 58 to 33 percent from the floor.

Travis Young scored 15 points while VanHoose, a sophomore, had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Cornelius Jackson had 10 assists.

Marshall coach Greg White said he’s glad Young had a good night after going four games without scoring in double figures.

”His job is to score points. I was considering a change in the lineup and so he knew he had to get it done tonight, and he has to continue that,” White said.

Young knows he has to be more consistent on both ends of the court.

”You’ve got to want to play defense. You’ve got to want to be aggressive whether you’re at home or on the road,” he said. ”I put the blame on myself. I haven’t dedicated myself, but this last week I have been.”

Alexei Vasiliev and Rick Fox led the Bulls (5-16, 3-9) with 11 points apiece.

Buffalo trailed only 27-24 with 6:35 left in the first half before VanHoose then scored six of Marshall’s final 14 points for a 41-31 halftime lead.

”Marshall is a good enough basketball team where you think they’re down, and then they come up and get you,” Witherspoon said. ”Their defense is great and they contested every shot.

”The beginning of the second half and the end of the first half was a complete collapse. We don’t have enough Division I talent to play well when things go badly. We didn’t pass the ball well and so then the shots were not open. Pretty much we collapsed and panicked.”