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Anderson scored a game-high 16 points

Men's Basketball

Second Half Charge Lifts Buffalo Past NIU, 68-46

Feb. 7, 2009

Final Stats

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BUFFALO, N.Y. - Darion "Jake" Anderson scored a game-high 16 points and freshman center Michael Fakuade added nine points and eight rebounds in his first-career start, but the Northern Illinois men's basketball team (6-15, 2-7 MAC) was defeated by host Buffalo, 68-46, at Alumni Arena Saturday afternoon.

The win was Mid-American Conference leading Buffalo's eighth-consecutive overall. Mike DiNunno added 10 points to join Anderson in double-figures., while the Bulls were led by Rodney Pierce's 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting.

Buffalo forced NIU into 20 turnovers, and scored 26 points off those miscues. The Bulls also added 20 second-chance points, capitalizing on 20 offensive rebounds. Overall, UB held a 44-28 advantage on the boards.

Anderson took charge in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 14 points on six field goals. Fakuade chipped in four points, while DiNunno and Sean Smith each added single three-point field goals. The Huskies opened the game in a zone defense, and forced the Bulls to use the majority of the shot clock on their early possessions. After the second media timeout, NIU trailed by just three, 10-7.

The Bulls went on a 7-0 run following the half's third media timeout, and claimed a 22-12 advantage, forcing NIU head coach Ricardo Patton into his first timeout. The Huskies charged back with a 7-4 spree, and cut the lead to seven points, 26-19.

After falling behind again by 10 (31-21), Smith added a banking three-pointer as the shot clock expired with just 43 seconds left in the first half, trimming the halftime deficit to just seven, 31-24.

Buffalo opened the second half on a quick 4-0 spurt, and extended its lead to 11 points (35-24) with 18:03 remaining. The lead was pushed to 18 points, 55-37, with 9:22 left, before NIU charged back with a 9-2 run to trim the deficit to 57-46. The Huskies could draw no closer, falling behind by a game-high 22 points with just 26 seconds remaining.

Northern Illinois will return home to face MAC-East foe Kent State Tuesday. Tip-off from the Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.

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