McCrea, Watt help Buffalo hold off Cornell 68-59

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Javon McCrea and Mitchell Watt scored 19 points apiece to help Buffalo hold off Cornell 68-59 on Wednesday night.

The Bulls (2-0) opened up big leads in both halves, with the Big Red getting close each time but never pulling ahead.

With Buffalo up 21-9, Cornell (1-2) closed to 24-22 with 3:39 left in the first half.

The Bulls took a 29-24 edge into halftime, increasing the lead to 41-29 with 14:03 remaining. However, turnover trouble and timely shooting helped the Big Red tie it at 41 with 11:08 left.

McCrea hit two free throws to give Buffalo the lead for good at 48-46 with 6:32 remaining.

The Bulls made 18 of 22 free throws while Cornell was only 4 of 8 from the foul line.

McCrea had 10 boards for a double-double as Buffalo dominated the glass, outrebounding Cornell 41-30.

Cornell was led by Eitan Chemerinski with 14 points.