After bouncing back from a disappointing Mid-American Conference opener with an overtime victory against the Elon Phoenix, the UB men's basketball team will return to the friendly confines of Alumni Arena to take on local rival, the Niagara Purple Eagles, on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Bulls stayed over the .500 mark by battling Tuesday en route to their second overtime victory of the young season by defeating the Phoenix 70-63, thus improving their record to 4-2 overall on the season.
Though the Bulls' record doesn't reflect a poor start to the season, UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon isn't thrilled with the play of the team in their most recent games.
"We're kind of fighting and struggling through a struggle period for us, but these are normal at this point in the year," Witherspoon said. "We're still getting better in some areas and getting some rust off, it's still early in the season, earlier than it seems to most people."
One of the great traits of the 2004-2005 Bulls is the balanced, team-oriented attack that Witherspoon has instilled in the UB squad.
On Tuesday against Elon, the Bulls out-rebounded their opponents by 13 and also had more assists than the Phoenix.
Aside from owning the boards, Buffalo displayed its unselfish character with five players reaching double figure scoring against the Phoenix. One of those players for the Bulls' was senior point guard Turner Battle.
Battle has eclipsed double digits in points for the Bulls in every contest so far this season. He upped his scoring average to a team-leading 14.7 points per game after dropping a season-high 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds against Elon.
"We're nowhere near as good as we can be," said Witherspoon. "If you play as well as you can play early in the season, you only get worse from there."
In addition to his scoring, Battle is also crashing the boards and distributing the ball. He leads the Bulls with 4.5 assists per game as well as pulling down five rebounds a game.
Complementing Battle are the two big guys down low. Mark Bortz and Yassin Idbihi are doing more than their share in controlling the paint.
While the Bulls are still trying to hit the same shooting stride they hit towards the end of last year's Cinderella run to the MAC tournament, Bortz and Idbihi have been picking up the slack.
Versus Elon, Idbihi and Bortz each chipped in to UB's offensive effort, tallying 13 points each. In the second half the two combined for 20 points.
On the season, Bortz and Idbihi are tied for the team lead in rebounds with 5.2 per game. They are also scoring at a clip of 12.5 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
The Purple Eagles (5-2, 1-1 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) are entering the match against the Bulls on a high note. They are coming off of a 96-60 blowout win against Yale on Tuesday night.
In the game versus Yale, senior guard David Brooks was on fire to start the second half for the Purple Eagles, scoring Niagara's first 21 points out of the locker room. Brooks, the Purple Eagles' second leading scorer, finished the evening with a game-high 25 points.
Brooks' 15 points per game average is second to only Niagara forward Juan Mendez, an early candidate for MAAC player of the year. The senior has been the driving force behind the potent Purple Eagles' offense, an offense that has scored just over 86 points per contest this season.
Mendez enters Saturday's game against the Bulls coming off his second double-double of the season. Against Yale, Mendez scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. This year Mendez has scored with impunity, leading the MAAC with 24.6 points per game. His nine rebounds a game is good for second in the conference.
This will be a good early test for UB as the Bulls prepare to start their tour of the MAC after the new year. The local rivalry will bring an added excitement to the game and the atmosphere will be reminiscent of a heated conference battle.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday at Alumni Arena. Those who cannot be part of the "Sea of Blue" in person can follow the game on Adelphia Channel 13 or WLVL 1340 AM.
