The Bulls went 35-for-60 from the floor, shooting 58.3 percent for the game, including 16-of-31 from behind the arc. In the second half alone, the Bulls shot 60.7 percent as they hit on 17-of-28 shots. For the first time since March 12, 2016, the Bulls were perfect from the free throw line, going 6-of-6.
Niagara led for much of the first 10 minutes of action, holding an 18-15 lead with 10:28 left, but a three pointer from senior Gabe Grant ignited a 19-0 run as UB quickly led by 16 at 34-18 in a span of four minutes. The Bulls made seven straight shots from the field during the run, which was capped off on back-to-back threes from Antwain Johnson and Jayvon Graves.
Another three pointer from Graves followed by a put back layup from sophomore Jeenathan Williams gave the Bulls their largest lead of the first half at 45-26 with 2:00 left. The Bulls went on to take a 47-29 lead into the break.
UB scored the first two buckets of the second half to extend the advantage to 56-36, but the Purple Eagles made a run, cutting the Buffalo lead to 61-50 with 10:19 left. The Bulls responded in a big way as Graves drilled a pair of three pointers to get the lead back to 17. An 11-2 run for the Bulls extended the lead to a game-high 27 points with just 3:34 left as Buffalo cruised to the victory.
"The one thing I was most happy with today was that we had 24 assists and we did a good job spreading the ball around and this afternoon we shot the ball well," said head coach Jim Whitesell. "I thought that was Jeenathan's best game of his career and it was great to see Jayvon shooting it well again."
Graves led all players with 22 points as he went 7-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-9 from three-point range. He added five rebounds and six assists. Williams notched a new career high with 19 points, completing the double-double with 10 rebounds and a pair of assists.
Sophomore Josh Mballa finished just shy of a double-double of his own with 12 points and nine rebounds. Grant scored 12 points off the bench as he was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor.
Redshirt freshman LaQuill Hardnett had eight points as he hit all four of his shots, while Ronaldo Segu finished with eight points and three assists. Senior Davonta Jordan had five points, four rebounds, and a game-high eight assists.
UB held a big 42-23 advantage on the glass as the Bulls had as many rebounds at halftime as Niagara had for the entire afternoon.
The Bulls will now get a nine-day break before returning home to close out non-conference play on Dec. 30 when Buffalo hosts its third and final Big 4 opponent, St. Bonaventure.