It's raining threes, Hallelujah.
Buffalo was the victim of questionable officiating, hostile crowds, and bad bounces in their four-game losing streak prior to Saturday afternoon's home contest against the Central Michigan Chippewas. But, as the team learned, the game gets a lot easier when the ball is shot straight.
UB (11-14, 6-8 MAC) broke out of a woeful shooting slump, knocking down a season-high 12 three pointers in posting a critical 69-57 victory against the Chippewas (7-15, 4-10 MAC), and keeping their chances alive of hosting a first-round home playoff game in the MAC tournament, which begins March 4.
After another cumbersome, close-to-the-vest first half that saw the Bulls trailing 29-28 heading into the locker room, they erupted for 41 second-half points, thanks in large part to brilliant three point shooting performances from Davis Lawrence and Louis Campbell.
Campbell was a perfect 4 of 4 from behind the arc in the second half, contributing to his game high 19 points. The Bulls second leading scorer was not one of the usual suspects. Davis Lawrence came off the bench to provide the team with a much needed spark. The 5-foot-10-inch junior was 3 of 4 from long distance, and his 14 points were only one off his career high. Lawrence also dished out six assists.
Chippewas Head Coach Jay Smith seemed almost perplexed when discussing the defeat. "[Lawrence] wasn't shooting the ball well the past four games. The whole team wasn't. Sometimes you have to play the percentages, and tonight the odds went against us," said Smith.
Lawrence buried his final three pointer with 7:32 left in the game, pulling up in transition and smoothly sinking the 20 footer to give the home team a commanding 60-46 lead and seal the Chippewas' fate. That shot gave the 1,522 fans in attendance a reason to rise to their feet, as opposed to the stationery positions fans have been resigned to in the last month of lackluster play.
"Davis plays with a healthy chip on his shoulder," UB Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "If we play gritty, then that's a real bonus for Davis because he's a gritty player. He prides himself on working hard and that helps him. That's when Davis is at his best, when everyone else is gritty."
The Bulls, who were 12 of 24 behind the arc, took the lead for good at the 16:16 mark of the second half on Campbell's only two-point basket of the day, a short jumper in the lane. That sparked a 24-11 run, culminating in Lawrence's three-point bucket. Buffalo accomplished the rare feat of hitting more three point baskets then twos, by a 12-10 margin.
The Chippewas shot over 50 percent from the floor but turned the ball over 17 times and were out-rebounded 31-26.
"There was a span in the second half where we turned it over 4 times out of 7. We dug ourselves a huge hole we couldn't get out of," said Smith.
Complementing Campbell's offensive heroics was his airtight defense on the Chippewas' leading scorer, David Webber. The younger brother of Sacramento King star and former Michigan standout Chris Webber, David Webber was held to a mere eight points, 11 below his scoring average.
The preseason pick to be MAC Player of the Year struggled mightily against an aggressive Buffalo defense that kept him to a 3 of 11 shooting night and forced him into six turnovers.
"I thought we made it very difficult on him, and (Chris) Kaman. We thought we could get their post players to lose some of their aggression. We knew we had to keep him on the perimeter and not driving directly to the basket," said Witherspoon.
Buffalo is still mired in 10th place, two spots out of the position needed to secure a home playoff game. If they are to achieve that goal, they'll have to do it on the road. Three of their final four games are away from Alumni Arena, starting Wednesday night against Toledo.
The Bulls' work is still cut out for them, but Witherspoon realized the importance of Saturday's victory.
"Physically, it's a win and you have to go and play Toledo next, but mentally it helps you get back into the mix of things a little bit," he said. "Almost every team in the conference has gone through what we've been through with the exception of Kent (State). It's not how you went through it, but how you deal with it. You get knocked down and you have to be able to get back up."
