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SYRACUSE, NY - Senior forward Darcel Williams (Buffalo, NY/Traditional) scored a game-high 24 points shooting 9-of-15 from the field but it wasn't enough to top Syracuse (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 18 AP) on Sunday night as the Orangemen outshot the Bulls en route to a 83-62 victory in the Carrier Dome. With the loss, the Bulls have now dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Darcel Williams

Syracuse (11-2), led by Preston Shumpert's 22 points, shot 55.6% (35-of-63) from the field and 53.1% (8-of-17) from beyond the arc compared to Buffalo's (6-5) 39.3% (25-of-56) from the field and 40.0% (12-of-30) beyond the arc.

The Bulls battled Syracuse tight in the first ten minutes of the game, trailing by just three points (15-12) with 10:03 remaining in the half. However, the Orangemen went a 10-3 run behind consecutive three-pointers by DeSahaun Williams to go up by 10 points at the 8:11 mark. The Bulls then virtually traded points with Syracuse over the final eight minutes of the half as the Orangemen answered every Bulls basket including following up a dunk in the final :30 of the half by senior Robert Brown (Detroit, MI/Oak Park) with one of their own to take a 40-27 at the break.

In the second half, Syracuse built up a 20-point lead with 9:08 remaining but UB put together a 12-4 run and pulled within 12 points behind two free throws and two baskets by senior Louis Campbell (Rayway, NJ/Rahway) and three-pointers by junior Davis Lawrence (Brooklyn, NY/New Utrecht) and Darcel Williams. Then following a Syracuse timeout, the Orangemen scored nine straight points to close the door on Buffalo, taking a 77-56 lead with 2:16 remaining before eventually closing the game 83-62.

"We got a lot of offensive rebounds, but I don't think we converted half of them," said Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon. "A lot of times you get offensive rebounds and you think, yeah, we're going to score. But when you don't convert them, it's tough, and that's a tribute to them. They're big and they're active."

Syracuse outrebounded Buffalo, 35-32 for the game, but the Bulls pulled down 18 offensive rebounds. Brown led the team with seven offensive boards. Campbell finished with seven total rebounds in addition to his 13 points. Freshman Turner Battle (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) chipped in with nine points and three assists for the Bulls.

The meeting between the two schools was the first since the Orangemen topped the Bulls, 82-70, during the 1997 season.

Buffalo will begin the thick of its Mid-American Conference schedule with road games at Eastern Michigan (Wednesday, January 2) and Northern Illinois (Saturday, January 5). The Bulls are still in search of their first MAC road win, having lost 27 consecutive conference road games since joining the MAC in 1998.