"Bulls battle back, wound Eagles in 80-68 victory"

It was a homecoming party for Jason Bird in the Wolverine State on Saturday.

The Ypsilanti, Mich. native and senior guard for the University at Buffalo Bulls (13-5, 6-4 MAC) torched his local team, the Eastern Michigan Eagles (9-9, 3-6 MAC) for 20 points en route to an 80-68 victory in front of a crowd of 2,893 fans at the Convocation Center.

The Bulls jumped out to an early 16-7 lead with 13:52 left in the first half, but this lead did not last, as the Bulls suffered foul trouble early and often in the second half, and found themselves in the double bonus just 10 minutes into the game. UB ended the first half with 15 fouls, including two apiece called on Mario Jordan, Yassin Idbihi and Daniel Gilbert.

"Anytime you can get a road win it's good because they are so difficult to come by in this conference," Witherspoon stated in a press release. "For our guys to reach deep inside themselves and come out with this one is a phenomenal testament to their character."

UB's early foul trouble forced two problems for the Bulls. First, Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon had to utilize the talent of his bench early in the first half, ultimately using 12 players in the period.

Additionally, Eastern Michigan was able to capitalize on Buffalo's sloppy play, shooting an almost-perfect 14-for-15 from the charity stripe to take a 36-26 lead with 2:53 left in the first half.

The Bulls were able to go on a tear in the final three minutes, ending the half on an 8-0 run and closing the gap from 10 points to just two at the intermission.

UB was able to carry that first half momentum into the second half, continuing its strong shooting and going on a 14-4 run to take a 48-40 lead. The Bulls would not let the Eagles back into the game after that point, stretching the lead to as many as 25 points before the final buzzer sounded, giving the Bulls the 80-68 victory.

Although the clipped Eagles attempted to fly back into the game, even outscoring Buffalo 23-22 over the final 13:39 of the contest, it was a case of too little, too late.

Bird, who grew up less than a mile from Eastern Michigan University's Convocation Center, hit six of his nine shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. Before Saturday's game, he had averaged 14.5 points at his home-away-from-home court.

"He lives closer to the arena than many of the players on (Eastern Michigan's) roster ... Jason walked into that building like it was his, like it had his name on it," said Witherspoon, according to the Buffalo News. "Today he put it all together."

Buffalo's second leading scorer in the game was Turner Battle. The senior point guard was the only other Bull to reach double digits in scoring, as he netted 14 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists.

The Eagles' John Bowler turned in 19 points in EMU's losing effort. He was one of three double-digit scorers for the Eagles, with the rest of the Eastern Michigan squad shut down by the Bulls' balanced attack.

Buffalo shot 51 percent for the game and touched twine nine times from beyond the arc. Additionally, the Bulls were able to focus on the defensive side of the ball, holding the Eagles to 36.8-percent shooting from the field.

The Bulls make their return to Alumni Arena on Wednesday night to host Ohio University (10-7, 5-4 MAC), as they come off a victory against Bowling Green (12-5 overall, 6-3 MAC) handing the Falcons only their fourth conference loss of the season.

Ohio currently has three players ranked in the top 25 in the MAC in scoring; the Bobcats are led by Mychal Green, who is averaging 14.9 points per game.

Turner Battle is the only Bull who is ranked in the top 25 in the MAC for scoring, with 15.2 points per game.

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Alumni Arena.