February 3, 2012

TOLEDO, OH - Hoping to carry on its recent success against the Mid-American Conference's Western Division, the Buffalo men's basketball team (13-6, 6-2 MAC) will travel to Toledo Saturday evening for a game against the Rockets (10-12, 2-6 MAC).

The Rockets are much improved in head coach Tod Kowalczyk's second year at the helm and boasts one of the best offenses in the conference thanks to four key transfers. Led by sophomore guard Rian Pearson's 17 points and eight rebounds per game, the Rockets average just over 71 points per game. Pearson (UW-Green Bay) and fellow transfers Dominique Buckley (Iowa State), Curtis Dennis (New Mexico) and Matt Smith (UW-Green Bay) make up more than half of the team's average points and rebounds per game. This instant injection of talent have helped to vault a team that finished 4-28 last season.

Buffalo is aiming for its third straight MAC road win and overall its sixth straight win. In its last game, UB used a blistering second half to bury Ball State at Alumni Arena by a score of 73-57. Mitchell Watt stuffed the stat sheet with team highs of 20 points and seven rebounds to go with five blocks and four assists. As a team, Buffalo shot 10-19 (52.6 percent) from three point range and 54 percent overall. After holding a 29-24 halftime lead, the Bulls shot 64 percent from the floor to cruise to victory.

Last season, Toledo trailed from start to finish at Alumni Arena, falling 81-58 thanks to 23 points and six rebounds from Zach Filzen. The Rockets lead the all-time series 11-5 but UB has taken the past three contests by an average of 14 points per game. Fans can tune into a live video stream through the conference website MAC-Sports.com, and can also follow along at 1230 AM WECK with Josh Whetzel calling the game.