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Bulls Roll Past Ohio on Senior Night, 84-65

Andy Robinson

Buffalo (12-18, 4-12 MAC) jumped out to a 21-8 lead and never looked back. Robinson hit four of his career-best five three-pointers in the first half to pace the Bulls. Parnell Smith (Indianapolis, IN/Pike) hit a lay-up and was fouled with 3:22 left in the first stanza. His free throw gave the Bulls a 37-20 lead - their largest of the half. Smith hit a baseline jumper in the closing seconds of the half to give the Bulls a 43-27 lead at the break.

Ohio (18-12, 9-7 MAC) opened the second half on an 11-6 scoring run to cut the UB advantage to nine points. However, the Bulls turned up the defensive pressure and mounted a 25-7 run of their own, capped by a Robinson break-away slam to take a 74-47 lead. A steal and lay-up by Ohio's Stephen King brought the Bobcats to within 14 with 3:07 left. But that would be as close as the Bobcats would get as the Bulls sealed the win at the free throw line - making six straight to end the game.

Playing in the final home game of his career, Yassin Idbihi (Tangier, Morocco/Schloss Hagerhof) notched his 13th double-double of the season by scoring 18 points and adding 10 rebounds. Fellow senior Smith also tallied a double-double in his final home game by adding 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Although only a freshman, Byron Mulkey (Wheatfield, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield) sure played like a senior as he had seven points, seven rebounds and a career-best 14 assists and played all 40 minutes. His assist total tied him for the fifth-highest single-game total in school history. Only Modie Cox (15 in 1995) had more assists in a game since the Bulls returned to Division I in 1991.

Christian Schmidt (Chemnitz, Germany/Schloss Hagerhof) made his first start of the season and finished with a career-high eight points in 13 minutes. Andrew Atman (Pittsburgh, PA/Upper St. Clair) added nine points and four rebounds off the bench.

Yassin Idbihi

But it was Robinson's night as the sophomore guard shot 8-for-12 from the floor, including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. It marked the second time in the last three games that he established a new career high.

Buffalo shot 52.5 percent from the floor - its best shooting performance of the season. The Bulls also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bobcats, 43-20.

Ohio was led by Whitney Davis who scored 19 points and Sonny Troutman who added 18.

"Senior night is a very emotional night," head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "What made it special is the respect that they had for the seniors and for the good teammates that they have in our senior class. We were aggressive enough to make them adjust to what he had."

Buffalo, the 10th seed in the upcoming First Energy Mid-American Conference Tournament, will next travel to Cleveland and face Central Michigan, the seventh seed, on Wednesday at 5:00 pm at Quicken Loans Arena.