Buffalo Falls at Miami (OH), 64-57

Calvin Betts

Buffalo (6-10, 0-4 MAC) was led by Calvin Betts (Rochester, NY/Rush-Henrietta) who had 12 points and nine rebounds. Sean Smiley (Erie, PA/McDowell) added 13 points and five boards. Smiley, who had been struggling from long range in recent games, knocked down a trio of three-pointers against the RedHawks.

It was a defensive struggle for both teams as neither team shot better than 40 percent for the game.

Miami (7-9, 1-3 MAC) took a nine-point lead, its largest of the contest, with 5:06 left in the first half. Betts and Smiley combined to score seven unanswered points to tie the contest at 27 with 2:04 remaining in the half.

After a Rodney Piece (Buffalo, NY/Hutch Tech) tied the game at 29, Betts hit a pair of free throws to give UB its first lead of the game, 31-29, with 50 seconds left in the half. Neither team would score again and the Bulls held a two-point advantage at the break.

A Tim Pollitz jumper put Miami ahead, 41-36, with 14:18 on the clock. The Bulls went on an 8-2 scoring run, capped by a Greg Gamble (Niagara Falls, NY/Niagara Falls) lay-up, to put the Bulls back up, 44-43, with 11:24 remaining.

However, back-to-back steals and break-away layups by Pollitz gave the RedHawks a 47-44 lead. After a Gamble jumper cut the Miami lead to 47-46, the RedHawks scored six unanswered points to go ahead by seven and seal the win.

It was the Bulls’ fifth straight loss and kept the team looking for their first MAC win.

Pierce had nine points for the Bulls and Gamble and Byron Mulkey (Wheatfield, NY/Niagara Wheatfield) each added seven.

Jawaan Alston (Uniontown, PA/Albert Gallatin) got the first start of his career for an injured Kambi Laleye (Ottawa, Ontario/Champlain St. Lambert) and finished with three points, four rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes.

Buffalo outrebounded Miami, 43-42. The Bulls committed 17 turnovers that were converted into 20 Miami points.

“It was a defensive battle,” head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. “Miami did an excellent job maintaining their poise in their decision making and we didn’t. I think that was the most deciding factor from our standpoint.”

Buffalo will return home to face Ohio at Alumni Arena on Thursday night. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 pm.