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BUFFALO, NY ­ The University at Buffalo men's basketball team lost a 66-52 decision to Miami before a crowd of 1,234 at Alumni Arena on Wednesday night. The Bulls, who have now lost four of their last five games since a road win a Marshall, fall to 10-12 overall and 5-6 in the MAC. Miami improves to 9-12 overall and 6-4 in the MAC.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle which began slow as the two teams combined for just 12 points in the first 7:26. Six lead changes and seven ties later, Miami walked into the locker room holding a two point advantage, 25-23. The two-point deficit was promising for the Bulls considering Buffalo shot 35 percent (10-of-28) from the field and 1-of-11 (9.1 percent) from behind the three-point arc for the half.

However, the Bulls continued the miss their mark in the second half and Miami ran off a 17-2 run to take a 17-point lead (42-25). Buffalo's lone two points - in a stretch of 9:34 where the Bulls missed their first 12 shots from the field - were scored at the free throw line by freshman

Mark Bortz

Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central). Finally, after another pair of Bortz free throws, junior Davis Lawrence (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) stole the ball from Bryan Reed and went the other way for a lay-up to change the momentum in Buffalo's favor. Lawrence was fouled on the play and missed the free throw for the three-point play but Buffalo scored on six of its next nine possessions in a 13-2 run to pull within two points (44-42) with 6:07 remaining. Following a pair of free throws by Miami's Doug Davis, Lawrence had a chance to get the deficit back to two points but he missed an open lay-up and the RedHawks took advantage of the break knocking down back-to-back three-pointers after trading free throws to begin a 24-6 run to close the game.

"We didn't look as hungry ( as Miami)," said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We had a spurt where we played hard but outside of that we didn't play hard. You can't afford to do that and win a game against Miami."

Bortz had a big game for Buffalo, recording a career-best and game-high 24 points. The freshman, who missed seven games this season with a knee sprain, also grabbed six rebounds and shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line.

"Mark has been battling and injury in both his knees all year round," said Witherspoon. "We know Mark is very talented and we are going to need more and more from him as the season goes on. Not just him, but all the freshman."

Lawrence finished with seven points, four assists and two steals. UB's sixth all-time leading scorer, senior Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) at 1,306 points, had just five points and senior Darcel Williams (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) was held to three points and five rebounds. Williams came into the game averaging 17.2 points in Mid-American Conference games.

For the game, Buffalo shot 31 percent (18-of-58) and Miami shot 43 percent (21-of-48). Miami held a 39-33 advantage on the boards but turned the ball over three more times than the Bulls, 13-10.

The Bulls will try to get back to .500 in the MAC this weekend when they host Western Michigan at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 9.