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BUFFALO, NY - Junior forward Robert Brown (Oak Park, MI/Oak Park) scored 21 points and snared a career-high 16 rebounds to lead the University at Buffalo to a 68-51 win over Eastern Michigan, snapping a 13-game losing streak and earning the Bulls' first Mid-American Conference win of the season.

Robert Brown

Buffalo (3-18, 1-11) slowly pulled away in the second half after trailing 24-23 at intermission. Brown led the way by scoring 15 of his points in the second half and dominating the glass. Brown had 16 rebounds while the entire Eastern Michigan team pulled down just 22.

"It feels good and these guys deserve it because we've worked hard," said Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "The best thing about tonight was that the clock didn't run out, we beat them. We defended them down the stretch and took care of the basketball. The fact that they had just three offensive rebounds is indicative of how hard we played."

The Bulls came out of the gates strong for the first time in three games and grabbed a 10-5 lead on a jumper by Louis Campbell (Rahway, NJ/Rahway) - he would finish with 13 points and four assists - but then saw the Eagles (3-19, 1-12) embark on a 15-2 run to grab a 20-12 lead with 8:12 remaining in the first half. Melvin Hicks scored 11 of those 15 points and brought on a key substitution for the Bulls.

Witherspoon inserted seldom-used freshman Jason Walcott (Toronto, Ontario/Vaughn Secondary) to guard Hicks and the Bulls' responded to Walcott's tenacious defense. Buffalo finished the half on an 11-4 run to cut the lead to 24-23 at the intermission.

Buffalo took control of the game early in the second half, snapping a 25-25 tie on a three-point jumper from the corner by Davis Lawrence (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) and the Bulls would not trail again. The Bulls extended the lead to eight points (40-32) with 11:08 remaining before the Eagles chipped away to get as close as 47-43 with 7:59 remaining.

The Bulls, however, had a finishing kick as Brown scored three straight points before Campbell hit a three pointer and Lawrence scored an old-fashioned three-point play on a drive to the basket to make the lead 56-43 with 5:49 remaining. Buffalo would keep the lead in double digits the rest of the way.

Buffalo also got a solid game from junior forward Jason Robinson (Seattle, WA/Curtis) who had 14 points and seven rebounds while Lawrence finished with six points, six assists and five rebounds. Walcott, meanwhile, had four rebounds, a steal, a block and an assist in a career-best 22 minutes off the bench.