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Shorthanded Bulls Top Ball State, 75-64

Yassin Idbihi

"Yassin and Calvin made major contributions in terms of scoring, but Yassin had eight offensive rebounds and Calvin had six total rebounds," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "If they didn't do those things, then the points don't really matter."

Buffalo (13-3, 3-2 MAC) prevailed despite playing without starters Parnell Smith (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) who missed his third straight game with an injury and Greg Gamble (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) who was forced to sit out while an academic issue was being resolved.

After the Bulls led for much of the game, Ball State took a 53-47 lead with 8:46 remaining. Buffalo rattled off six straight points to tie the contest at 53 with 5:42 remaining. With the score tied at 58, a pair of Idbihi free throws gave the Bulls the lead for good with 4:01 left. On the Bulls' next possession, Idbihi pulled down one of his eight offensive rebounds and made the put-back to extend the UB lead to 62-58. Roderick Middleton (University Park, IL/Marian Catholic) provided the dagger when he drained a three-pointer on the Bulls' next possession to give Buffalo a 65-58 lead with 2:49 remaining in the contest.

The Bulls clamped down defensively and outscored the Cardinals, 28-11, over the final 4:19 of the game. They converted eight straight free throws in the final 1:16 to help seal the victory.

Middleton and Mario Jordan (Cleveland, OH/Benedictine) joined Idbihi and Cage in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Ball State (4-9, 0-5 MAC) was led by Skip Mills who scored 20 points. Maurice Acker had 15 points and a career-best 10 assists for the Cardinals.

Calvin Cage

Cage hit a free throw with 5:42 remaining to become only the 13th player in Buffalo history to score 1,000 career points. He is only the fifth player to accomplish the feat since the Bulls returned to the Division I ranks in 1991.

Buffalo will wrap-up its three-game home stand with an afternoon tilt against Central Michigan on Saturday at Alumni Arena. Tip-off is slated for 2:00 pm.