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Daniel Gilbert

BUFFALO, NY ­ Buffalo rebounded from a sluggish start to top Central Michigan, 75-66, at Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon. After scoring 30 points on 36.7 percent shooting in the first half, the Bulls bounced back to shoot 57.7 percent in the second half. Daniel Gilbert (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) tallied a career-high 17 points to pace the Bulls. Roderick Middleton (University Park, IL/Marian Catholic) knocked down a career-best five three-pointers en route to a season-high 15 points.

Buffalo (10-11, 6-7) jumped out to a 12-6 lead. At that point, UB shooters suffered through a cold spell, allowing the Chippewas to go on a 13-2 run and take a 19-14 lead. A three-pointer by Mario Jordan (Cleveland, OH/Benedictine) at the 10:14 mark, cut the lead to 19-17. However, they were the last points scored by either team for nearly four and a half minutes. Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) knocked down a jumper to end the drought and tie the contest, 19-19. The Bulls closed the half on an 11-4 run to hold a 30-23 halftime advantage.

A triple by Gilbert and a deuce by Battle opened the second-half scoring to extend the UB lead to 12 points. One of Middleton's four second-half three-pointers increased the lead to 61-47 with 7:31 left in the game. Central Michigan fought back and a pair of free throws by Sefton Barrett cut the UB lead to, 69-64, with 1:39 remaining. However, a layup by Gilbert and a pair of free throws from both Calvin Cage (Capital Heights, MD/Bladensburg) and Battle quickly extended the Bulls' lead to 11 points, sealing the victory for UB.

Roderick Middleton

The Bulls outrebounded the Chippewas, 36-25, and shot 16-for-22 from the free throw line, compared to just 5-for-6 for Central Michigan. Battle finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists while Jordan also reached double-figures with 13 points.

Central Michigan (4-19, 1-12) was led by Gerrit Brigitha who scored 16 points. Kevin Nelson and Barrett each tallied 14 points for the Chippewas.

It was the 10th win of the season for the Bulls, marking only the second time since joining the MAC in 1998 that the Bulls have reached double-digits in the win column.

"Central Michigan shot the ball extremely well in the second half and did a great job of hanging in there and fighting until the end," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "It's probably what we needed, although it's not what we wanted. We held our poise long enough to win. It was a good conference win for us."