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Bulls Snap Skid Against Northern Illinois

Yassin Idbihi

Buffalo (10-12, 2-7 MAC) got a spark from walk-on Byron Mulkey (Wheatfield, NY/Niagara Wheatfield). The freshman point guard made his first career start in only his second career game. He finished with 11 points, four assists and a steal in 28 minutes.

It was a tight game throughout with four ties and 10 lead changes. The Bulls jumped out to a 34-24 lead with 5:14 left in the first half. However, the Huskies closed the half on a 12-3 scoring run to cut the UB lead to 37-36 at the half.

Northern Illinois (4-17, 1-8) opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a five-point lead with 17:20 remaining. With the Huskies ahead, 65-62, with 5:49 on the clock, the Bulls rattled off nine straight points, capped by a Parnell Smith (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) lay-up to take a 71-65 lead with 1:55 left. The Bulls went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the win.

The Bulls dominated the glass, outrebounding the Huskies, 47-27, including a season-high 25 offensive boards. Andy Robinson (Schenectady, NY/Schenectady) pulled down a career-high nine rebounds to lead the Bulls. Smith had eight rebounds to go along with 16 points - his best effort in conference play this season.

Buffalo had 13 steals - its highest in conference play this season. Robinson led the Bulls with four pilfers.

Byron Mulkey

Northern Illinois was led by James Hughes who scored 20 points and Ryan Paradise who added 16.

"We moved the ball better and more aggressively and it was good to see," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "We have been working on rebounding the basketball all season long and for the most part we have been able to do that better than our opponents. Today it was good to get 25 offensive rebounds, cut our turnovers down and be aggressive with the basketball."

The Bulls will head back out on the road and play at Ball State on Wednesday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.