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BUFFALO, NY ­ Buffalo senior Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) scored 26 points but it wasn't enough for the Bulls men's basketball team to pull out an upset victory over visiting Northwestern on Saturday night. The Wildcats scored 10 of the game's final 14 points to edge the Bulls, 63-57 before a crowd of 6,119 at Alumni Arena.

Louis Campbell

The Bulls have now dropped two-straight to fall to 9-10 overall while Northwestern, of the Big Ten Conference, improves to 11-7 on the season, having won three of the past four games.

Campbell, the lone Bull in double figure scoring, hit several clutch shots for Buffalo down the stretch. The senior drained a three-pointer to put Buffalo up 43-42 at the 12:39 mark, after Buffalo fell behind by four points he connected on another three-pointer to pull the Bulls within a point (49-48, 6:59), with 4:24 left he hit a trifecta to tie the game at 52 and with a 1:32 remaining he hit his game-high sixth three-pointer to pull the Bulls within striking distance at 58-56. To finish the game, Buffalo's eight all-time leading scorer (1,273 career points) was 6-of-12 from behind the arc and 8-of-19 from the field.

Freshman Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central), who returned after missing seven games with a knee sprain, made a lap-up in the final seconds of the first half to give UB a 29-27 lead at the mid-way mark. Campbell hit a three-pointer to begin the second half but Northwestern went on a 15-2 run to take the largest lead of the game by either team. Buffalo immediately responded with a 9-0 run to go on top by one-point (43-42, 12:39) for the final time. Northwestern outscored the Bulls, 21-14 to close the game.

"Our kids played hard, they shot the ball extremely well," said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon. "It was a great test for us. Unfortunately we missed some shots we would like to have over. We got a great effort, we just didn't finish it."

UB's leading scorer Darcel Williams (Buffalo, NY/Tradition) at 16.7 points per game was held to four points on 2-of-6 shooting. However, the senior grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, the eighth time he has finished in double figures on the boards this season. Bortz added nine points and junior Davis Lawrence (Brooklyn, NY/Brooklyn) collected six points and seven rebounds.

Buffalo shot 36% (21-of-58) from the field compared to Northwestern's 50% (20-of-40) mark, which included an 11-of-18 second half. The Bulls won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Wildcats 34-32 overall and 15-7 on the offensive end. Northwestern had three fewer turnovers (15-12).

The Bulls will remain home and return to Mid-American Conference play with a matchup with Northern Illinois on Monday night. The Huskies defeated the Bulls in the first meeting this year, winning 72-70 on January 5.