Despite shooting 52 percent from the field and having four players score at least 15 points, the Illinois State Redbirds found themselves on the wrong end of a 106-90 final score against Buffalo, in each program's final game of the 2021 Cancun Challenge.

Kendall Lewis scored a team-high 22 points making 8-of-10 shots from the field and all five of his three-point tries. Sy Chatman added 21 points, while Antonio Reeves scored 17 and Josiah Strong 15.

ISU struck first in the game with a Sy Chatman three-point play, before Buffalo ran off a 15-3 run, and the Bulls never trailed again in the contest. The Buffalo lead stretched to as many as 13 in the first half at 27-14 before ISU scored 10 straight points to close within three at 27-24 after a Howard Fleming Jr. three-pointer. The Bulls responded with a 10-0 run of their own as they took a 15-point, 49-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.

In the second half Illinois state made nearly 70 percent of its shots, making 23-of-33 from the field and scored 56 points; however, Buffalo was equally as hot, making 8-of-10 three-pointers and 63 percent of their shots in the second half, scoring 57 points over the final 20 minutes.