With the win, Buffalo improves to 20-3 on the year and 8-2 in MAC play. It is just the eighth time in school history UB has hit the 20-win mark and the fourth time in the last five years.
Central Michigan came out strong as a three-pointer from Dallas Morgan gave the Chippewas a 32-14 lead just 12 minutes into the contest. However, a Jeremy Harris three-pointer ignited a 24-6 run as the Bulls erased the deficit within a six-minute period
A three from senior Montell McRae tied the contest at 38-38 with 2:08 left. CMU would score the final five points of the first half to take a 43-28 lead into the break.
Buffalo outscored Central Michigan 52-33 in the second half as CMU shot just 28.6% in the final 20 minutes. The Chippewas led 49-42 with 17:40 left when the Bulls went on a 16-0 run and never looked back. Five different Bulls scored during the run, including five points from senior CJ Massinburg.
The Chippewas cut their deficit back to three at 58-55 with 10:19 left, but UB went on an 11-1 run as a dunk from senior Nick Perkins extended the advantage to 69-56 with 7:11 left.
CMU had one last run as it pulled back within three with 2:01 left, but the Bulls ended the game on a 13-2 run to take the 14-point decision.
"I thought we were really good today after those first 12 minutes," said head coach Nate Oats. "After that initial charge by them, we got back to playing that Blue Collar brand of basketball that has won us a lot of games this year."
Harris led four players in double figures with 19 points, while adding eight rebounds, and six assists. Massinburg added 18 points, all coming in the second half as he was 6-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Fellow senior Dontay Caruthers added 16 points and four steals, while Perkins finished the night with 10 points and six rebounds.
Junior Davonta Jordan had seven points and a game-high eight assists, while sophomore Jayvon Graves finished the game with nine points and five boards, four of those coming on the offensive end.
McRae chipped in seven points and freshman Jeenathan Williams had four points.
The Bulls forced Central Michigan into 23 turnovers, which UB turned into 30 points. Offensively, UB shot 54.8% for the game, including just under 57% in the second half.
Buffalo held Central Michigan's leading scorer Larry Austin Jr. to just eight points, but Shawn Rountree registered a game-high 26 points. David DiLeo tallied 12, followed by Dallas Morgan (11) and Robert Montgomery (10).