Bulls Defeat Miami, 76-64

Capture sole possession of first place in the MAC East

OXFORD, OH - The University at Buffalo menâs basketball team is off to its best start ever in MAC competition with a convincing 76-64 victory over the Miami RedHawks on Saturday evening at Millet Hall. With the victory, the Bulls take sole possession of first place in the MAC East at 4-1.

Andy Robinson

The Bulls (12-5, 4-1 MAC) were without junior Calvin Betts, who remained at home to attend the funeral of his grandfather. Senior Andy Robinson stepped up in Betts' absence, scoring a game high 16 points including four rebounds, two steals and two assists. The Bulls also found support from junior Rodney Pierce who registered 13 points, a blocked shot and a game high seven rebounds. Freshman Titus Robinson added 11 points to the Bulls' total including one steal, one blocked shot, one rebound and two assists.

In the first half, the Bulls (12-5, 4-1 MAC) stormed out against the RedHawks establishing a 12-3 lead with 15:56 on the clock. The Bulls largest leads over the RedHawks came at 2:34 with a 41-21 lead and at 1:57 with a 43-23 lead. The Bulls played tough defense holding the Redhawks to shooting 25 percent from the field. At the end of the half, the Bulls held a 23-13 advantage in rebounds and a commanding 43-25 lead.

Rodney Pierce

The second half forced the Bulls to step up as the RedHawks would answer the Bulls first half challenge. The RedHawks allowed the Bulls to push their lead to 18 within the first minute of the second half however, from that point on the RedHawks began to fight back.

Throughout the rest of the second half the Bulls saw their lead begin to dwindle. The RedHawks' Antonio Ballard, hit two three-pointers to diminish the Bulls' lead to one point with 7:42 remaining in the contest, 56-55. With 4:35 remaining the Bulls would establish a four point lead and from then on, continued to build on the lead for the rest of the game until the final buzzer sounded.

The Bulls finished the contest with a 32-30 advantage in rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the field.

Max Boudreau

Junior Max Boudreau provided the Bulls with a solid effort off the bench, scoring 12 points while shooting two-for-two from the free-throw line. Junior John Boyer made his first career start as a Bull, recording five rebounds and three assists.

"It was great for our guys to come in here shorthanded, in front of the biggest Miami crowd we have ever seen and to stay together long enough to fight through the adversity," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "The guys learned a bit more about themselves."

The Bulls will remain on the road as they face Western Michigan on Tuesday, January 27 with the tipoff at 7 pm.