Jeremy Harris posted 22 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 16 Buffalo defeated pesky Western Michigan 88-79 on Tuesday in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Harris has led the Bulls (16-1, 4-0 Mid-American Conference) in scoring three straight games. Nick Perkins contributed 14 points and five rebounds, CJ Massinburg had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists and Dontay Caruthers chipped in 11 points and five rebounds.
Josh Davis piled up 24 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Broncos (6-11, 0-4). Seth Dugan tossed in 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Michael Flowers chipped in 10 points.
The Bulls shot 45.6 percent from the field, while the Broncos hit 49.1 percent of their shot attempts.
Buffalo rallied from a double-digit deficit to gain a 43-39 halftime lead. Perkins and Massinburg had nine points during the half, while Davis scored 14 for the Broncos.
The Bulls led 20-15 nine minutes into the game. Western Michigan then went on an 18-2 run to gain an 11-point advantage.
William Boyer-Richard started it off with a 3-pointer. Jared Printy and Davis also connected from deep, and Flowers capped it off with two free throws and a layup.
Still down 37-31 with three minutes left, the Bulls finished the half with a 12-2 run. Caruthers got it going with a layup, and Perkins soon followed with two more. In the final 35 seconds, Harris drilled a three, and Massinburg dunked.
Harris made a three in the first two minutes of the second half to give the Bulls an eight-point edge. From there, the lead fluctuated between two and seven points until Printy tied it at 62 with a jumper.
Caruthers' three-point play with 11:31 left put Buffalo back in front. When Perkins and Ronaldo Segu made back-to-back threes 30 seconds apart, the Bulls led 75-68 with eight minutes to go.
The Broncos battled back, and when Davis made a layup with 5:46 remaining, Buffalo's lead was down to two at 77-75.
The Bulls wouldn't relinquish it though, and a Massinburg three with 1:26 left gave them an 86-79 lead.
--Field Level Media
Buffalo | Western Michigan | |
Jeremy Harris 20 | Scoring | Josh Davis 24 |
Davonta Jordan 3 | Assists | Josh Davis 4 |
Jeremy Harris 11 | Rebounds | Seth Dugan 8 |
Jeremy Harris 7 | Free Throws Made | Patrick Emilien 6 |
Davonta Jordan 4 | Steals | Michael Flowers 3 |
Jeremy Harris 2 | Blocks | Patrick Emilien 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Buffalo | 88 | 45.6 | 9-29 | 17-20 | 12 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 14 |
Western Michigan | 79 | 49.1 | 8-25 | 17-25 | 12 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 17 |