Bulls Earn Landmark Win Over Army

BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo men's basketball team beat Army, 74-67, at Alumni Arena on Thursday night for the 1,000th win in program history. The Bulls hit a season-best 10 three-pointers to foil an Army zone defense and snap the Black Knights' five-game winning streak.

The Bulls' long-range barrage was led by Sean Smiley who nailed four three-pointers en route to scoring a season-high 14 points. Zach Filzen had three three-pointers and John Boyer added a pair.

Buffalo (3-2) made eight of its three-pointers in the first half to help build its lead to as many as 15 points before settling for a 40-30 advantage at the break.

Army (5-2) battled back to cut the lead to 49-47 with 13:14 left. But the Bulls would never relinquish the lead. The Bulls held a slim, 58-57, lead with 4:28 left. However, Smiley scored five straight points, capped by his fourth trey of the game to extend the UB advantage to six with 3:36 remaining. Buffalo would seal the win at the free throw making 11-of-12 free throws down the stretch.

Boyer scored the Bulls' final seven points at the charity stripe and finished the game with a career-high 13 points. As a team, the Bulls shot 28-of-35 from the free throw line.

Rodney Pierce tied for team-high scoring honors with 14. Max Boudreau registered his first career double-double with 12 points and a career-best 10 rebounds.

"We were moving and moving without the ball and we were trusting that movement," head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. "When we are doing that, we are pretty good offensively. They were playing zone for much of the game and we still moved pretty well. We've got to find a way to be consistent with it."

Buffalo will next hit the road and play at sixth-ranked Purdue on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:00 pm.