Wisconsin Herd get revenge on Windy City Bulls, hold on for 111-102 win

The Wisconsin Herd got their revenge on the Windy City Bulls by taking home a 111-102 victory to spoil the Bulls’ home opener Saturday night.

Just as their I-94 rival did the previous night in Oshkosh, the Wisconsin Herd got payback on the Windy City Bulls by spoiling their home opener at Sears Centre Arena in a 111-102 victory.

The Herd rolled with the starting lineup as they did for their regular season opener, with the exception of Jaylen Adams taking the place of Bucks two-way player Frank Mason III, who was sidelined with an undisclosed injury. And the Bulls lost plenty of the reinforcements that were on hand in their first win of the season with the likes of Daniel Gafford and Denzel Valentine being called up by the parent club.

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Wisconsin struggled coming out of the gate and needed a timeout from head coach Chase Buford nearly four minutes in to rebound from their false start. It proved to be a good decision as they promptly responded with a 11-0 run to take control of the contest and hold a 26-22 lead at the end of one.

Their lead quickly grew into double digits, thanks to a 12-0 run to start the second quarter that included triples from the likes of Jemerrio Jones and Luke Maye.

The Bulls responded with a run of their own that helped them come within 3 of the Herd under the 4-minute mark in the period, but the Herd finished out the first half with a 16-3 run from that point on to lead WIndy City 58-42 going into halftime.

Showing no complacency coming out of the break, the Herd exploded with a three-point party that helped them hold their biggest lead of the night (27) at the 8:50 mark in the third. They weren’t able to sustain their hot start and the Bulls quickly got hot from three-point line, which helped them to cut their massive deficit down to 85-72 through three.

Disaster struck in the fourth frame when the Herd took on the form of their parent club by losing control of the large lead that they held in the third and saw it slip away when a triple from Milton Doyle, who finished the night with 35 points on 9-of-19 shooting from long range, gave the Bulls a 89-87 lead at the 8:37 mark in the fourth.

Fortunately, the Herd responded to the warning call and quickly retook control of the lead with a big three from rookie Luke Maye on the following possession. Multiple trips to the free throw line were given to both teams down the stretch, but the Herd managed to avoid relinquishing control of the lead and it was a deep dagger from three-point range by Jaylen Adams with 1:06 to go that put the unofficial cap on Buford’s first win as Herd head coach.

The leading scorer for the Herd on the night was Rayjon Tucker, who finished with 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field (2-for-4 from three, 6-for-10 from the free throw line), five rebounds, four assists and two turnovers in nearly 37 minutes of action. Tucker showcased his wide-ranging offensive game to give the Herd a reliable scorer, especially down the stretch when they were scrounging for buckets to secure their first win of the season.

The aforementioned Adams joined forces with Tucker to serve as the Herd’s closers as 11 of his 22 total points for the night came during the fourth quarter, which was thanks to his ability to get to the free throw line where he knocked down all seven of his free throw attempts throughout his spot start.

Foul trouble limited Bucks two-way player Cam Reynolds to just 26 and a half minutes of playing time, but the Tulane alum’s well rounded play led to a 14-point performance, which included three triples, and he finished with a game-high +26 over his shifts on the floor.

Bucks assignee Dragan Bender had his fingerprints all over the Herd’s win as he ended up with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and gave Wisconsin a huge defensive presence in the paint where they allowed just 24 points to the Bulls on the night. With that said, the 21-year-old wasn’t without his shortcomings for the night as he piled up eight turnovers and went 2-of-5 from downtown in nearly 31 minutes of burn.

Speaking of turnovers, the Herd have amassed 46 turnovers over their first two games of the season and it’s not surprising to see the team is still trying to generate a collective chemistry with one another, considering the start of training camp was just less than two weeks ago.

Next up for the Herd is a meeting with the Capital City Go-Go, whom they will take on at Menominee Nation Arena for a 7pm CT showdown Wednesday night.