With 1.1 seconds left, Western Michigan forward Matt Stainbrook stepped up to the free throw line for two shots with his team trailing, 58-57. His squad's hopes rested on his back. Alumni Arena pulsated in pandemonium, as a near-capacity crowd did its damndest to thwart Stainbrook.
He missed the first. The student section erupted in hysteria. The Broncos called a timeout and the gargantuan, 6-foot-9, 290-pound center thought about the situation for a long, hard 30 seconds as thunderous chants of "STAAAAIN-BROOK" exploded throughout the Arena.
He missed again.
Those two missed free throws, a clutch late-game bucket by senior guard Zach Filzen, and a made free throw by senior forward Dave Barnett gave the Bulls a massive 59-57 win, improving the team to 16-6 (9-2 Mid-American Conference) and keeping its spot at no. 2 in the MAC. Buffalo sits just a half game behind of conference-leading Akron.
Stainbrook pulled his jersey over his head in dejection after he missed the second. Senior forward Titus Robinson – who faced some free throw woes of his own, going 0-for-5 from the line down the stretch – said he didn't envy Stainbrook's dilemma: shooting late-game free throws in a rowdy Alumni Arena.
"Better him than me," Robinson joked.
Western Michigan head coach Steve Hawkins said he didn't blame Stainbrook – who finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds – whatsoever for the loss.
"I felt awful for him," Hawkins said. "I told him that he deserved better. I told him that we wouldn't have been in that position if it weren't for him."
With 23.5 seconds left, Western Michigan (10-15, 4-7 MAC) appeared to have the game won. Broncos' guard Mike Douglas drove down the lane, drew contact, and converted a three-point play to give his team a 57-56 lead.
As the clock read "20.7," Buffalo called a timeout to set up for the game-winning possession. Senior guard Zach Filzen got a pass from sophomore guard Jarod Oldham, shot-faked from the 3-point line – getting his defender off balance – and dribbled a few feet inside the arc. He then hit a pressured fade away jumper. Filzen said he was just supposed to be a decoy, but the game fell into his hands.
Stainbrook grabbed an offensive board at the other end, drew a foul, and the rest is history. Dave Barnett hit a free throw with .3 seconds left. Filzen finished with 10 points, though he sat on the bench for the majority of the second half as he struggled to get in rhythm.
Senior forward Mitchell Watt and junior forward Javon McCrea – who have been the team's two steadiest players this year – continued their monstrous play in the paint. Watt finished with 16 points, eight boards, and six blocks, though he was nearly non-existent in the opening half. McCrea scored 14 on 6-of-7 shooting, but he fouled out with 3:56 remaining. The two just couldn't get going at the same time. The Bulls were up 56-52 when McCrea exited.
Buffalo is now 28-4 in its last 32 games at Alumni Arena, and head coach Reggie Witherspoon said the crowd was a massive part of this win.
"We got through some rough times and got ourselves back in the game [after trailing 46-38 late in the second half]," Witherspoon said. "I thought the crowd played a big hand in that right up to the end, and it's great to have that kind of support."
The win gives the Bulls their first sweep of the MAC West (6-0) in school history.
"I think [the sweep] is big," Filzen said. "Obviously in this conference it's such a battle; you need to play well every single night to get a win. I think we're more excited about that: keeping a streak going, trying to get better and better."
Robinson said his team wanted to make history, and now it has.
Buffalo jumped out to a 9-2 lead, but led just 27-23 at the break, as Western Michigan found little ways to hang around. McCrea scored 12 of his team's first 19 points.
The Bulls turned the ball over twice as much as their counterparts – 12 to six – but out-rebounded the Broncos (who came in second in the MAC in rebounding differential), 44-37.
"Offensively, we never really got into a rhythm," Witherspoon said.
This game was Buffalo's last in Alumni Arena until Jan. 22, when the Bulls will play Ohio (19-6, 7-4 MAC). The Bobcats fell two games behind Buffalo in conference standings with a Saturday-night loss to Eastern Michigan. The Bulls will be in action twice next week with both games on the road, and in the first game, they'll travel to Kent State (18-6, 8-3 MAC) on Tuesday. The game will tip at 7 p.m.
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