Bulls hose Flames

UB men's basketball was on fire Tuesday, and the Flames couldn't take the heat.

Displaying some of their best defensive hustle of the season, the Bulls left Lynchburg, Va., with a 66-53 win over Liberty University and extended their hot start to 7-1, the best record they've had since the 1958-59 season.

Liberty's team was ashes under the Bull's hooves at the Vines Center in UB's fifth consecutive victory.

"We played in a very adverse environment," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "There were a lot of people and they were loud. The change in momentum was really dramatic, but we persevered and played good defense."

The Bulls dominated possession throughout the game and tied their season high with 10 steals. Freshman guard Andy Robinson has become the team's official cat burglar, compiling half of the team's takeaways.

Robinson also had three steals in just 17 minutes of the team's previous game against Niagara.

The Bulls quickly extinguished the Flames' offense by forcing a whopping 23 turnovers, leaving Liberty scrambling to regain possession of the ball and creating another fine example of UB's strength on the court.

The offensive performance, however, was not as productive, as the team generated a season-low 35.7 percent from the floor and recovered 27 rebounds, another season low.

"We need to do a lot of things differently," Witherspoon said. "We've got to be much better with our rebounding and we need to move without the ball much better."

Nonetheless, the Bulls managed to score enough points to maintain the lead. Junior forward Parnell Smith led the team with 16 points. Smith is averaging five rebounds per game and is ranked fifth in the Mid-American Conference for blocks and second for offensive rebounds.

Also scoring in double digits for the Bulls was senior guard Calvin Cage, who tallied 13 points, nine of which were from 3-point range. Cage is ranked third in the conference with an average of three 3-pointers per game. He has nailed a 3-pointer in his last 10 games, dating back to last season.

Cage's team-leading 16.6 points per game is sixth in the MAC.

Senior forward Mario Jordan and junior forward Yassin Idbihi also added big numbers to the scoreboard with 12 points apiece.

The Bulls finished the game's first half with a 10-point lead and as the offense seemed to pick up momentum, the team's defense lost some. UB allowed Liberty to make a 12-3 run towards the end of the second half, and the Bulls' advantage was cut short to just a three-point lead. Cage promptly increased the lead with another 3-pointer and Jordan tossed in a lay up to bring UB's lead back to a 58-47 with just 4:52 remaining in the game.

The Flames hadn't been snuffed just yet though, as they went on another run. A few precise shots from Larry Blair brought the team to a close five-point difference with 2:44 left on the clock. A 3-pointer from Idbihi put UB back at an eight-point advantage and the Bulls kept the Flames under control for the remainder of the game.

The Bulls will face Rutgers on Saturday at Alumni Arena. Witherspoon said the team's performance would have to improve in order to down the Scarlet Knights.

"I don't think you can win any game and think just because you won that one, that you can win the next game too," Witherspoon said. "Rutgers will be one of the better opponents to come to Buffalo in a long time."

The game will begin at 7 p.m.