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Javon McCrea scored 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting,he also put up seven rebounds. His effort was helped by Will Regan's 17 points and and Tony Watson's seven assist.
Those three players, who kept UB in the game all night long, teams up in the last two minutes to seal UB's victory over Ball State. The Bulls (7-12, 2/3 Mid-American) overtook the Cardinals for good at the 2:41 mark on a powerful McCrea Dunk. The teams traded blows highlighted by Will Regan's 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.
Watson collected his eight and ninth points of the game with late free throws to seal the victory.
The Cardinals (7-10, 1-4) led by Jauwan Scaife never trailed in the first half en route to a 31-29 halftime advantage. Neither team managed more than a five-point lead after halftime. Ball State, normally a strong second half team, let UB take the lead early in the second before the teams began trading off the lead.
Three Point Shot...
Point One... May I Assist You?
McCrea putting up 24, Regan scoring 17. It would be easy to see the nine points put up by Tony Watson and call it a small contribution to the teams overall performance. However you can not overlook his assists. Seven assist is almost double what any UB player has done since conference play began five games ago.
Point Two... Better late?
Buffalo has had a lot of trouble producing near the end of a half, it's been a painfully consistent aspect of the teams play, including the air ball pass in the first half. But at the end of the second half Regan and Watson were clutch, and that brought home a road win in conference.
Point Three... This might be a salvageable season
The MAC is a mess this season. Ohio and Akron are heads above the rest of the conference but UB's 2-3 mark is tied for 4th in the conference. Akron and Ohio are undefeated and Western Michigan is Rocking a 3-2 mark. Buffalo along with everyone but Ball State is next at 2-3, then finally the Cards at 1-4.
Everyone is behind the ball when it comes to catching up to Ohio or Akron but right now seeding in the top four is up for grabs.
Behind the numbers
| Buffalo Bulls | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Javon McCrea, F | 29 | 10-12 | 0-0 | 4-6 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 24 |
| W Regan | 32 | 5-13 | 4-9 | 3-4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| Tony Watson II, G | 39 | 3-7 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Auraum Nuiriankh, G-F | 14 | 2-6 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| Jarryn Skeete, G | 36 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Corey Raley-Ross, G | 12 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cameron Downing, C | 12 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 |
| Richie Sebuharara, G | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Xavier Ford, F | 7 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2-4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Raphell Thomas-Edwards, F | 14 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 22-48 | 7-17 | 15-22 | 11 | 29 | 15 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 19 | 66 | ||
| 45.8% | 41.2% | 68.2% | ||||||||||
| Ball State Cardinals | ||||||||||||
| STARTERS | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Chris Bond, F | 29 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| Majok Majok, F | 19 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 5-6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| Zach Fields, C | 21 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Jauwan Scaife, G | 32 | 5-11 | 3-6 | 5-7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
| Jesse Berry, G | 33 | 3-8 | 1-5 | 2-3 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| BENCH | MIN | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS |
| Tyler Koch, F | 19 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Matt Kamieniecki, F | 27 | 4-4 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Bo Calhoun, F | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Posley, G | 15 | 2-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| TOTALS | FGM-A | 3PM-A | FTM-A | OREB | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | PF | PTS | |
| 21-51 | 5-16 | 16-21 | 13 | 31 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 17 | 63 | ||
| 41.2% | 31.3% | 76.2% |