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DeKALB, IL - The University at Buffalo is still in search of its first MAC win after falling to Northern Illinois 64-49. The Bulls' 49 points were the lowest output of the season as UB managed just 13 field goals in the game against an aggressive NIU defense.

It was even through the first seven minutes, with three ties and three lead changes. A three-pointer by Jason Robinson (Seattle, WA/Curtis) tied the game at 10-10 with 13:26 to play in the first half, but it was all Northern Illinois after that. The Huskies took the lead for good on the next possession on a three-pointer by Mike Brown. That ignited a 10-2 Huskie run over the next four minutes as they took an eight-point lead. The Bulls would cut the lead to five points before NIU closed the first half with a 9-0 run and took a 33-19 advantage into halftime.

The second half was again dominated by NIU as the Huskie defense shut down any UB offensive charges. The closest UB came to making a run was a 6-0 spurt midway through the half. A free throw, followed by a Damien Foster (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) basket and a fastbreak layup by Kevin Swoffer (Independence, MO/William Chrisman) cut a 17-point lead down to 12 points, 49-37, with 9:41 to play. That was as close as UB would get the rest of the game as NIU responded with a bucket on the next possession and cruised to a 64-49 win.

Northern Illinois did the job on both ends of the court, shooting 51.0% (25-for-49) from the field and 56.3% (9-for-16) from three-point range. The Huskie defense limited Buffalo to just 31.7% (13-for-41) from the field and just 49 total points, the lowest point total for UB since November 27, 1999, when Canisius beat UB 78-46.

"We didn't deserve to win tonight, we just didn't work hard enough or compete hard enough to deserve to win," said UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "Once we got down, our players saw it as a do-or-die situation and tried to rely on three-pointers, took some ill-advised shots and we didn't rebound well. We haven't rebounded this bad all season."

Mike Brown led NIU with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range. Leon Rodgers added 14 points and seven rebounds and Sean Ezell had 13 points and seven rebounds to help lead the Huskies to their second win of the season. UB had just two players hit double figures as Damien Foster and Jason Robinson each had 13 points for the Bulls.

Buffalo falls to 2-8 overall and 0-3 in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls will continue their road swing next week with matchups at Bowling Green on January 10 and at Central Michigan on January 13.