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B.J. Walker

BUFFALO, NY ­ It was just a matter of time. The Bulls had been working too hard, for too long for a victory to elude them on this night. Thus, Buffalo brought an end to a 12-game losing streak in a big way on Tuesday night with a 90-66 thrashing of Eastern Michigan at Alumni Arena. It was also UB's first conference win of the year.

"I'm just happy for these guys," Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "We played some games that were as good and lost. So it was good to play this way and come away with a win."

The game was a back-and-forth affair in the early stages of the first half. However, sparked by a Calvin Cage (Bowie, MD/Bladensburg) jumper and capped by a Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) three-pointer, the Bulls closed out the first stanza on a feverish 21-5 scoring run to take control of the contest. Buffalo saw its lead balloon to 29 points in the second half before coasting to the victory.

Even more impressive than the 24-point victory, was the way in which they achieved it. The Bulls shot a school record 67.2 percent (39-58) from the field, including 57.1 percent (4-7) from beyond the arc. In the second half alone, the Bulls only missed seven shots (23-30) en route to a 76.7 shooting percentage. UB did a masterful job of scoring inside as 58 of its points were in the paint. The Bulls' 90 points tied their highest scoring total ever in a MAC game.

Mark Bortz

Buffalo (4-16, 1-10) had four players finish in double-figures led by B.J. Walker (Cincinnati, OH/Mt. Healthy) who scored 21 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds. It was the freshman forward's second double-double of the year and the third time he topped the 20-point barrier. Battle had another solid all-around performance with 19 points, five assists and four steals. It was a perfect night for Mark Bortz (Commerce Township, MI/Walled Lake Central) who scored a season-high 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the floor and 4-for-4 shooting from the charity stripe.

Eastern Michigan (10-10, 4-7) bounced back from a sluggish first half to score 45 second-half points. The Eagles were led by Ryan Prillman who scored a game-high 22 points. Steve Pettyjohn and Markus Austin scored 16 and 14 points, respectively.

"We just dug in together and said that this has got to be the one, because we've had too many close games where we've played well, but we haven't won," Battle said.