The win was UB's second in a row as Buffalo improved to 18-6 on the season and 10-1 in the Mid-American Conference. CMU, falling after two victories last week, dropped to 15-9, 4-7 MAC.
The Bulls opened . . .
Central Michigan battled and was down 53-45 when the Bulls went on a 19-9 run, which was capped off on a four-point play from junior CJ Massinburg. That gave the Bulls a 72-54 cushion with 6:18 left.
The Chippewas, however, would make a game out of it late. Buffalo led 77-66 following a three from Clark with 3:04 left when five straight CMU points cut the Buffalo lead to just 77-71.
Central Michigan got as close as four following a 3-pointer from Josh Kozinski with 10 seconds left, but Clark hit a pair of late free throws to seal the game. The Bulls hit seven of their last eight free throws.
UB shot 50 percent from the floor, as the Bulls went 16-of-32 in both halves of the game. Buffalo had four players in double figures led by 22 points from junior Jeremy Harris. Massinburg added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Clark had 16 points, seven rebounds, and a game-high six assists.
Perkins added 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Sophomore Davonta Jordan finished with eight points as all nine Buffalo players that saw action scored.
UB added 17 more assists as a team as well as five blocked shots, including two from freshman Jayvon Graves.
The Bulls held Central Michigan to just 8-of-34 from three-point range on the night as the Bulls hit 11 triples on the way to their 18th victory of the season. That surpasses their win total from last year.
Senior forward Cecil Williams led Central with 23 points and nine rebounds. Joining him in double figures were Shawn Rountree (20), David DiLeo (12) and Kevin McKay (12).
NEXT:
UB will remain on the road Saturday afternoon when the Bulls travel to Northern Illinois for their second meeting this year with the Huskies. Tipoff is at 4:30pm EST
Central Michigan heads to Akron for a Saturday (2 p.m. ET) matchup.