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Yassin Idbihi

Fresno State (14-10) jumped out to an 18-8 lead with 11:04 remaining in the first half. The Bulls answered by going on an 11-0 scoring run, capped by a jumper by Roderick Middleton (University Park, IL/Marian Catholic), to take a 19-18 lead with 7:00 remaining in the first half. After tying the contest at 27, Fresno State closed the half by hitting consecutive three-pointers to take a 33-27 lead at the break.

The Bulls battled back to tie the contest, 42-42, on a jumper by Yassin Idbihi (Tangier, Morocco/Schloss Hagerhof) with 10:17 remaining. After the teams traded leads, a three-pointer by Middleton gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the game, 49-45, with 4:26 left. However, the Bulldogs came back to tie the contest at 49 with 1:43 remaining. The Bulls would score the final three points of the game courtesy of free throws by Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth). A half-court prayer by Fresno State's Dwight O'Neil at the buzzer wasn't answered.

Buffalo was led by Idbihi who had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five steals. Middleton added 11 points and his block of a dunk attempt by O'Neil sparked the Bulls' first-half comeback. Battle was hampered with foul trouble and played only 21 minutes. He finished with six points. Daniel Gilbert (Detroit, MI/Cass Technical) grabbed seven rebounds and tied a career high with five steals.

Fresno State, which was held to 16 second-half points, was led by O'Neil who scored a game-high 15 points. Mustafa Al-Sayyad had nine points, nine rebounds and a school record 11 blocked shots.

Buffalo matched a season-low with only nine turnovers, including only three in the second half.

"With the travel and everything, it looked like we were really tired and dragging a little bit," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "You want your guys to understand that there is more than one way to win a game, but you need to be able to win games when they are low scoring."

It marks the second straight year that the Bulls have been victorious on Bracket Buster Saturday. Last year, the Bulls topped Indiana State, 64-51.

Buffalo will return to conference play on Wednesday night when it plays at Marshall. Tipoff is slated for 7 pm.