"Bulls battle back, beat Broncos"

Despite the inability to consistently knock down a free throw, the UB men's basketball team (14-7 overall, 7-6 Mid-American Conference) was able to outlast Western Michigan University, beating the Broncos by a final score of 85-79.

With the victory, the Bulls were only the second team in the last two and a half years to walk out of University Arena in Kalamazoo, Mich. with a win over the Broncos (15-8 overall, 8-5 MAC).

UB's six-point margin of victory would have been much more expansive had the Bulls been able to hit free throws. Buffalo was missing free throws all night long. They finished the game going 12-for-26 from the not-so charitable stripe.

The Broncos, on the other hand, were able to capitalize on their 37 free-throw attempts, pouring in 30 of their 79 points on foul shots.

UB also missed most of its free throws towards the end of the game, as the Broncos got their tenth team foul with just over two minutes remaining, and continued fouling the Bulls on every possession thereafter.

Bulls' head coach Reggie Witherspoon was proud of the way his team played last night, as they shot very well from the field, going 46 percent from the floor and having four players score in double digits.

"I think it was a night where our team played well against a great opponent, they're very, very good and they're especially good here, and after that we just have to stay focused," said Witherspoon.

There were seven different lead changes and the score was tied eight times in the first half, but the Bulls hung on, played hard, and got lucky.

Turner Battle, en route to a team-high 18 points, got the ball in the back-court towards the end of the first half, ran down court and heaved up a one-handed running shot from just beyond the 3-point line, and it went in right at the buzzer.

Battle's lucky loft gave the Bulls a 41-40 lead going into the half, and from there they never looked back.

Western Michigan was a team standing atop the MAC West division entering the contest, ahead of powerhouse opponents including Ball State, Bowling Green and Toledo.

Additionally, they had the second best conference record in the entire MAC, topped only by Miami (Ohio).

The Bulls knocked the Broncos out of first in the MAC West division, but odds are, the team won't stay down for long.

Witherspoon and the Bulls, however, were not focused on division standings at the beginning of this game, as they had a formidable opponent to concentrate on.

Once again, the referees became a factor frustrating both Bulls' big men and perimeter players alike. At half time, Roderick Middleton, Mark Bortz, Daniel Gilbert, and Mario Jordan all had two fouls, and Parnell Smith joined the trio in the two-foul club at the beginning of the second half.

"Well, I kept telling them with all the foul calls, don't let it get you down," said Witherspoon. "Sometimes it's hard, you ask them then to do something and you try to get them to do fundamental things and it's not easy."

At times, Bulls players were being thrown to the floor and not having fouls called, but when they attempted to get physical themselves, it appeared as though the Bulls were whistled every time.

"To do things correctly and get called for a foul is disturbing," said Witherspoon.

UB had lost two games straight coming into this game, and had the conference tournament started last night, the Bulls would have played an away game in the first round of the MAC tournament at the school of one of the four teams that were tied with a 7-4 conference record.

But the Bulls were able to avoid their third straight loss, improving to 7-6 in the conference. The team will now get ready to face the Ball State Cardinals on Saturday.

"The maniacs will be out in large numbers for the ESPN game on Saturday at noon," said Witherspoon.