Central Michigan University Athletics
Saturday, February 28
Buffalo, N.Y./Alumni Arena
2:00 PM
Central Michigan University
10-19,6-10MAC
75
at
70
Buffalo
16-13,6-10MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
34
41
75
Buffalo
26
44
70
Team Stats
CMU
UB
FG%
.473
.475
3FG%
.409
.348
FT%
.824
.667
RB
39
25
TO
15
8
STL
4
10
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Kailey Hill '26 - @rahsignz
Chippewas Claim Key Road Win at Buffalo 75-70
2/28/2026 5:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Central Michigan holds off Buffalo, moves into seventh place tie in the Mid-American Conference standings; Chippewas win first road game of the 2025-26 season; Tamario Adley leads Chippewas with a game-high 21 points as CMU outrebounds Buffalo 39-23.
BUFFALO, N.Y.—Tamario Adley scored a game-high 21 points and Central Michigan held off host Buffalo down the stretch to register its first road win of the 2025-26 season, a 75-70 victory Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena.
The win moves Central Michigan (10-19 overall, 6-10 MAC) into a seventh-place tie with Buffalo (16-13, 6-10 MAC) and a half-game ahead of ninth-place Massachusetts (6-11 MAC). The Chippewas now hold the tiebreaker against Buffalo. The top 8 teams advance to the MAC Tournament, March 12-14, in Cleveland.
Next up for Central Michigan, the Chippewas host Akron at McGuirk Arena for its final home game on Tuesday, March 3, and then closes the regular season at Ball State on Friday, March 6 (7 p.m.).
With the win, Central Michigan's snapped a seven-game losing streak in games played at Buffalo and gave the Chippewas their first win on the road against Bulls since Feb. 14, 2015 (75-74). It was Central Michigan's first road win since a 69-67 victory at Ball State on March 4, 2015.
Adley converted seven of his 13 field goal attempts, 3-6 3-point attempts and hit all four of his free throw attempts in the game's final 20 seconds when Buffalo cut CMU's lead down to three points (73-70) with 14 seconds to play. He iced the game with two free throws with 13 seconds to play. It marked Adley's sixth 20-point game of the season. Phat Phat Brooks finished with his third straight game in double-figure scoring with 14 points (5-8 FG) with a career-high seven rebounds, and eight assists. Nathan Claerbaut added 11 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots, and Keenan Garner led the Chippewas with 10 rebounds, his four double-digit rebound game of the season.
Central Michigan made all the winning plays. The Chippewas dominated the boards, outrebounded the Buffalo 39-23 and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to UB's 17 defensive, and hit a season-high 82.4 percent (14-17) of their free throws. The Chippewas led by six points at halftime, led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, then held off a late Buffalo rally for the victory.
"We found a way to close it out," Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema said. "It still wasn't pretty, but it's improvement. We met a few more passes; we were strong with the ball enough to draw a few fouls. We used our timeouts wisely, substituted well, and we didn't foul down the stretch. When some negative some things happen to you and the way we responded, it was good. Our guards started to break to the ball a little bit harder, instead of shying away from it."
"You can imagine the last few days in practice, revisiting these scenarios from the last game. We were in the exact same scenario, and the progress was good enough to close it out. We hit some free throws. That's what it takes. We're in the MAC; we're on the road. I can't be more proud of our guys. There was a lot of progress today."
Central Michigan used a 9-0 run to expand a six-point halftime lead to a game-high 16 points (47-31) at the 14:58 mark. While holding the Bulls scoreless over a three-minute span, Claerbaut started the run with a jumper, then scored on a layup, Jalen Kampen hit a 3-pointer, then Nick Mullen stole a pass and drove in for a layup.
But Buffalo wasn't finished. The Bulls gradually cut the margin down. They cut the lead down to six points on a 3-pointer Ryan Sabol and two Angelo Brizzi free throws with 5:16 to play. Another Sabol 3-pointer cut the lead to 71-68 with 31 seconds to go and a Brizzi layup cut the deficit to three points (73-70) but that was as close at the Bulls came as the Chippewas had an answer every time Buffalo made a run.
Central Michigan built a six-point halftime lead (34-26) as it shot 62.5 percent from 3-point range and outrebounded the Bulls 22-9.
Central Michigan used an 11-2 run to take an 18-16 lead with 8:28 to play in the first half. Adley hit a 3-pointer to give Central Michigan its first lead of the game, Brooks converted a 3-point play, Jalen Kampen hit a 3-pointer and Claerbaut started the run with a layup off a McIntire pass.
Later, a 6-0 run gave the Chippewas CMU went up 31-24 on a Claerbaut layup, Kampen jumper, and two Garner free throws. Adley hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to play and the Chippewas ended the first half on a 9-2 run.
The Chippewas will host second-place Akron (24-5, overall, 15-1 MAC) on Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena for the regular season finale. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
"We have a hard-working team, hard-playing team, guys that player together, play the right way," Bronkema said. "We have some exciting players, a big-time shot blocker, above-the-rim guys, and some people that the community is getting to know. That's something to cheer for, when your team is doing it the right way. You can't have a big upset without our fans. Akron is very, very good. That's why we all signed up to play for Central Michigan, to play in games like that. We're going to try to step up to the challenge and see if we can give our fans the best game of the year and close another one out. We want to see everyone out there. Every time the home crowd has exploded for us, it's been worth at least 10 points for us. We hope to put one more good showing out there for you."
The win moves Central Michigan (10-19 overall, 6-10 MAC) into a seventh-place tie with Buffalo (16-13, 6-10 MAC) and a half-game ahead of ninth-place Massachusetts (6-11 MAC). The Chippewas now hold the tiebreaker against Buffalo. The top 8 teams advance to the MAC Tournament, March 12-14, in Cleveland.
Next up for Central Michigan, the Chippewas host Akron at McGuirk Arena for its final home game on Tuesday, March 3, and then closes the regular season at Ball State on Friday, March 6 (7 p.m.).
With the win, Central Michigan's snapped a seven-game losing streak in games played at Buffalo and gave the Chippewas their first win on the road against Bulls since Feb. 14, 2015 (75-74). It was Central Michigan's first road win since a 69-67 victory at Ball State on March 4, 2015.
Adley converted seven of his 13 field goal attempts, 3-6 3-point attempts and hit all four of his free throw attempts in the game's final 20 seconds when Buffalo cut CMU's lead down to three points (73-70) with 14 seconds to play. He iced the game with two free throws with 13 seconds to play. It marked Adley's sixth 20-point game of the season. Phat Phat Brooks finished with his third straight game in double-figure scoring with 14 points (5-8 FG) with a career-high seven rebounds, and eight assists. Nathan Claerbaut added 11 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots, and Keenan Garner led the Chippewas with 10 rebounds, his four double-digit rebound game of the season.
Central Michigan made all the winning plays. The Chippewas dominated the boards, outrebounded the Buffalo 39-23 and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to UB's 17 defensive, and hit a season-high 82.4 percent (14-17) of their free throws. The Chippewas led by six points at halftime, led by as many as 16 points early in the second half, then held off a late Buffalo rally for the victory.
"We found a way to close it out," Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema said. "It still wasn't pretty, but it's improvement. We met a few more passes; we were strong with the ball enough to draw a few fouls. We used our timeouts wisely, substituted well, and we didn't foul down the stretch. When some negative some things happen to you and the way we responded, it was good. Our guards started to break to the ball a little bit harder, instead of shying away from it."
"You can imagine the last few days in practice, revisiting these scenarios from the last game. We were in the exact same scenario, and the progress was good enough to close it out. We hit some free throws. That's what it takes. We're in the MAC; we're on the road. I can't be more proud of our guys. There was a lot of progress today."
Central Michigan used a 9-0 run to expand a six-point halftime lead to a game-high 16 points (47-31) at the 14:58 mark. While holding the Bulls scoreless over a three-minute span, Claerbaut started the run with a jumper, then scored on a layup, Jalen Kampen hit a 3-pointer, then Nick Mullen stole a pass and drove in for a layup.
But Buffalo wasn't finished. The Bulls gradually cut the margin down. They cut the lead down to six points on a 3-pointer Ryan Sabol and two Angelo Brizzi free throws with 5:16 to play. Another Sabol 3-pointer cut the lead to 71-68 with 31 seconds to go and a Brizzi layup cut the deficit to three points (73-70) but that was as close at the Bulls came as the Chippewas had an answer every time Buffalo made a run.
Central Michigan built a six-point halftime lead (34-26) as it shot 62.5 percent from 3-point range and outrebounded the Bulls 22-9.
Central Michigan used an 11-2 run to take an 18-16 lead with 8:28 to play in the first half. Adley hit a 3-pointer to give Central Michigan its first lead of the game, Brooks converted a 3-point play, Jalen Kampen hit a 3-pointer and Claerbaut started the run with a layup off a McIntire pass.
Later, a 6-0 run gave the Chippewas CMU went up 31-24 on a Claerbaut layup, Kampen jumper, and two Garner free throws. Adley hit a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left to play and the Chippewas ended the first half on a 9-2 run.
The Chippewas will host second-place Akron (24-5, overall, 15-1 MAC) on Tuesday night at McGuirk Arena for the regular season finale. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.
"We have a hard-working team, hard-playing team, guys that player together, play the right way," Bronkema said. "We have some exciting players, a big-time shot blocker, above-the-rim guys, and some people that the community is getting to know. That's something to cheer for, when your team is doing it the right way. You can't have a big upset without our fans. Akron is very, very good. That's why we all signed up to play for Central Michigan, to play in games like that. We're going to try to step up to the challenge and see if we can give our fans the best game of the year and close another one out. We want to see everyone out there. Every time the home crowd has exploded for us, it's been worth at least 10 points for us. We hope to put one more good showing out there for you."
—CMU—
MBB vs. Western Michigan Highlights
Monday, February 23
Men's Basketball Western Hype
Friday, February 20
Nathan Claerbaut Video Feature
Wednesday, February 18
MBB Win Melt vs NIU
Tuesday, February 17