Solid teams are marked by their ability to bounce back from disappointing losses.
The University at Buffalo men's basketball team, coming off back-to-back defeats, showed they are emerging into that caliber of team after a 75-65 thrashing of the Northern Illinois Huskies (7-10, 3-5 MAC) Monday night at Alumni Arena before a crowd of 1,096.
"We came out strong," said UB Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon. "I think our guys learned a little bit from going to Kent (playing them a second time). The second time through, at home, there is a big advantage to the home team. When you add in the factor of having lost the first game [at NIU], you really need to come out and turn up the intensity, and I think our guys did that tonight."
UB (10-10, 5-4 MAC) got off to another cold start, a theme prevalent at home all season long, but once they got the feel for the tempo of the game they began to prove they were the superior team. After playing even basketball for much of the first 10 minutes, Buffalo slowly started to pull away.
With the Bulls leading 20-17 and 10:10 left on the clock, freshman Mark Bortz hit a jumper to increase the lead to five. The shot appeared to jumpstart the Bulls' offense, who from there went on a 23-9 run to close out the half with a 19-point advantage, 45-26.
Bortz, who was playing his second game since returning from a sprained knee, came off the bench to contribute 12 points in 22 minutes of action.
"My knees are feeling real good, I'm back to 110 percent," said Bortz. "It feels great to be back on the court."
While Bortz's shot may have jumpstarted the Bulls, it was the play of forward Darcell Williams that carried them into halftime.
Williams, who scored a total of seven points in his previous two games, was perfect in the first half going 5-5 from the field, 4-4 from behind the arc, and 4-4 from the free throw line. The senior finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds, and was one of four Bulls to score in double figures.
"I had to be more aggressive," said Williams. "A lot of teams are keying on me so I have to work harder at different things I do to help this team be successful."
The second half featured both teams trading baskets in the early going before Northern Illinois made a series of mini runs that were countered for the most part by UB. Senior forward Robert Brown executed a thunderous dunk at the 7:45 mark of the half, effectively bringing the home crowd out of its slumber, and putting the final nail in the Huskies' coffin.
NIU, to their credit, kept fighting and prevented the game from ending in a blowout. However, with their leading scorer Perry Smith out with a muscle pull, they had too little firepower and eventually conceded the loss.
UB shot a tremendous 53.1 percent from the field for the game, including 55 percent in the second half. Buffalo continuously got quality looks at the basket and took advantage of them.
The game offered a taste of the future as young players such as Daniel Gilbert and Jason Bird had solid overall games. The two freshmen gave the Bulls' arsenal quality minutes and were a testament to UB's deep bench.
"We had a stretch in the first half where we had four freshman on the floor and we not only didn't lose anything we picked up something," added Witherspoon.
For Buffalo, the only sour spot was the fact that they were out-rebounded for the game 38-32, leading to several easy baskets inside for the Huskies.
UB's Davis Lawrence turned in a splendid performance at the guard position finishing with 10 points in providing a boost of intensity for the squad. Louis Campbell had the scoring burden lifted off his shoulders, and finished with a balanced 13 points and five assists.
Further proof that the UB men's basketball program is growing and gaining attention around the conference came directly from the mouth of Northern Illinois Head Coach Rob Judson.
"We showed tonight how good of a team Buffalo is. I feel good about the fact that we were able to beat a real good Buffalo team at our place," he said, referring to the Huskies' 72-70 triumph over UB on Jan. 5.
NIU forward Leon Rodgers quietly led all scorers with 24 points. Marcus Smallwood, who was teased incessantly by the Alumni faithful, just missed a double double with 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Bulls return to action Saturday at 7 p.m. against Akron (WWKB-AM Radio 1520). UB's next home game is Wednesday, Feb. 6 vs. Miami, Ohio.
Buffalo center Clement Smith missed his second-consecutive game with a stress fracture of his right ankle and is still listed as day to day. Junior Joe Veal started in his place, but picked up two early fouls and was taken out in favor of Bortz.
