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BUFFALO, NY ­ Buffalo senior Robert Brown (Detroit, MI/Oak Park) hit what appeared to be a game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds left to put the Bulls up by one point but Western Michigan's Steve Reynolds caught an inbound pass just outside the three-point arc, spun, dribbled twice and let go a 17-foot shot before the buzzer to lift the Broncos over the Bulls, 60-59, at Alumni Arena on Saturday night.

Darcel Williams

Buffalo, having now lost its past three games, falls to 10-13 overall and 5-7 in the Mid-American Conference. Western Michigan improves to 12-11 overall and 5-7 in the MAC with its first road win of the season.

"We tried to get a high hand and tried to get a deflection, said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We didn't want to foul him. We wanted to put as much pressure on the shooter as we possibly could. We did everything we could short of fouling."

Freshman Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) made a free throw with :06 left in the first half to give Buffalo a one-point, 25-24, advantage at the break. UB held the largest lead of the half - five points - on a jumper by freshman Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central) with 12:18 remaining but the Broncos countered with six straight points.

In the second half, senior Darcel Williams (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) showed the home fans why he is making a push for All-MAC honors as he scored 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the half. During a 10:36 span in the second half, Williams connected on a career-high six three-pointers. The last trifecta gave the Bulls a four-point lead with 5:36 left. Senior Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) followed with a jumper to put the Bulls up by six points and the teams traded points before WMU scored five straight points to pull within one, 57-56, with 1:01 remaining. The Bulls had a chance to extend their lead with :24 left but Bortz failed to convert his two free throws. The Broncos took advantage, as Reynolds hit a jumper with 13.5 seconds left to take a 57-58 lead. Following a timeout, UB inbouded the ball at mid-court and Campbell drove to the basket, releasing a shot with three seconds on the clock. The shot was off the mark but Brown quickly grabbed the rebound and dumped it back in to give the Bulls the apparent victory as time expired. However, after a brief conference with the officials, 1.5 seconds was put back on the clock. Then after a timeout, the Broncos threw a three-quarter-court pass to Reynolds and he threw up the game-winner as time expired.

Williams finished with a game-high 27 points (10-of-15 from the field) and Campbell had 10 points and five assists. Brown added nine points and six rebounds.

Statistically, the game was extremely even as Buffalo shot 39 percent (20-of-51) and Western Michigan connected on 36 percent (20-of-55). The teams each had 12 turnovers and 35 rebounds and shot comparable from the behind the three-point arc (13-of-23 for UB and 5-of-16 for WMU).

Buffalo will travel to Ball State on Wednesday, February 13 (7 p.m.), before hosting Central Michigan on Saturday, February 16 at 2 p.m.