It took more than 40 minutes, but the UB Men's basketball team held off Daemen for an 87-82 win in an exhibition tune-up on Friday.
Daemen, which returned four of its five leading scorers from a season ago, led 61-55 with less than six minutes left in the second half.
The Bulls rallied to take a 72-69 lead on a three-pointer from Willie Conner with 34 seconds left in regulation.
Daemen's Jeff Redband, who finished with 22 points, answered with a triple of his own, to force overtime.
In total, five Wildcats scored in double figures, including Deion Hamilton (16) and Arif Mehmetaj (15).
CJ Massinburg led the Bulls with 27 points. He also had five assists and seven rebounds.
Nick Perkins and Willie Conner added 25 and 24 points, respectively.
Blake Hamilton, who was named the MAC Championship MVP after hitting the game-winning three pointer against Akron, did not play due to a broken hand.
He announced on Twitter his cast was off prior to the game.
Hand healed sooner than expected! God is GREAT!
— Blake Hamilton (@bhamgoesham) November 3, 2016
*****
On the women's side, UB had no issues with Bloomsburg (PA), topping the Huskies 65-45.
Joanna Smith went 4-6 from beyond the arc and led all scorers with 14 points. The Bulls' bench combined to score 33 points in the victory.
The season openers for both programs are next Friday, Nov. 11.
The women host Massachusetts at 7 p.m. at Alumni Arena. The men play Big 4 rival Niagara at the Gallagher Center. Tip off is set for 8 p.m.
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