Streaky Bulls Stopped Cold by Eagles

The Bulls (8-10, 4-6 Mid-American Conference) entered the game Wednesday night against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (8-10, 3-7 MAC) with a chance to extend their winning streak to four games and reach .500 for the fist time in 2004.

However, a second-half UB collapse at both ends of the court sparked the Eagles to a 43-point second half and a big win over Buffalo, 77-66, in front of 1,823 at Alumni Arena.

"We were awful, and they played well," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "We shot too many threes and we kept missing free throws, and if you keep missing free throws, sooner or later, it'll bite you in the butt."

Even Mark Bortz, a 78 percent free throw shooter in conference play, shot 3-12 from the line.

All Witherspoon could do was stand and watch his team's losing effort, and then question their mental approach to the game:

"Every team in our league is a hard-nosed, gritty team," said Witherspoon. "I was just disappointed that our mental approach to the game allowed us to get so low ... we seemed to get soft, we stopped blocking out, and we shot too many threes."

Buffalo started out the first half well, going on a 9-2 run, but the Eagles climbed back into the game, cutting the halftime deficit to 34-31.

The Bulls couldn't buy a bucket from the field in the second half, hitting just 12 of 34 shots for 35.5 percent, but the outcome of the game was decided from behind the arc and at the charity stripe, where Buffalo shot 4-19 and 10-24, respectively.

"I'm just disappointed with our total team effort in the game today," said Buffalo star and MAC East Player of the Week Turner Battle. "We didn't come to play. We have to go to practice now and get back to the basics, playing team basketball."

After the game was tied, 48-48, with 9:45 left in the second half, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run, after which they never looked back. EMU swingman Markus Austin led his team with 19 points, and John Bowler chipped in with 15 points and 12 rebounds.

In a game with very few bright spots for UB, the sharp shooting (9-12 field goals) Battle led with 20 points, along with six assists and six rebounds. Daniel Gilbert helped out with 11 points and eight rebounds, and Mario Jordan added ten points and six rebounds.

The Bulls hope to bounce back at 2 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 7, as they play host to the Marshall Thundering Herd (7-11, 4-6 MAC) in Alumni Arena.