Bulls Aim to Send Senior Class Out in Style
3/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY - Playing with a chance to earn an automatic spot in the upcoming Mid-American Conference tournament semifinal, the Buffalo men's basketball team will close out the 2012 home schedule with a Saturday evening matchup against East rival Bowling Green (16-13, 9-6 MAC) at 6 pm. It will be the final home game for this year's group of seniors, the winningest class in program history (Mitchell Watt, Titus Robinson, Dave Barnett, and Zach Filzen).
In the last game out, Tony Watson scored Buffalo's final nine points of the game, including six straight free throws in the final minute of the game to seal a 74-70 win over Akron to help the Bulls clinch a top four seed in the conference. The Bulls (18-9, 11-4 MAC) came back from a 38-34 halftime deficit to pull the road upset over the East Division-leading Zips, thanks to Mitchell Watt's game-high 22 points on 11-15 shooting from the field, but Watson's career-high 14 would prove to be the difference.
Bowling Green comes into Saturday's game with a hot streak of its own. After losing to the Bulls in mid-January, the Falcons have gone 8-3 since that point and are aiming for the fifth seed in the tournament, most recently downing Miami (OH) on Senior Night. The Falcons are led by All MAC forward A'uston Calhoun, who is averaging a team high 13.5 points per game. Four Falcons in total are averaging double figures, including sharpshooter Scott Thomas (12.8 ppg, team high 6.5 rebounds per game) and jitter-bug point guard Jordon Crawford (10.9 ppg, 4.9 assists per game).
With an Akron loss at Kent State on Friday night and a Buffalo win over Bowling Green, the Bulls will win a share of the regular season title and earn the top overall seed in the tournament. No matter the outcome in the Akron game on Friday, a win over Bowling Green would clinch at least the second seed and a bye to the tournament semifinal.
Tickets are still available for tomorrow's game by clicking here, and those who can not make it to the game can watch live on Sports Time Ohio or listen in on 1230 AM WECK.
