Historic win for Bulls — and their fans

BOISE — With just over a minute remaining in Thursday’s NCAA tournament first round tilt between 13^th-seeded UB and No. 4 Arizona, Bulls junior forward Jeremy Harris looked over to the UB fan section at Taco Bell Arena and smiled.

At that point, the game was firmly in hand. The Bulls were on their way to collecting their first NCAA tournament win in three tries, a stunning upset of a team many people had picked to win the national title.

CBS Sports’ Greg Gumbel called UB’s 89-68 win over the Wildcats “an absolute beat down.” Harris’ smile said it all, and the Bulls fans who made the trip to Boise were going bonkers knowing that bracket-busting Buffalo was about to be thrust into the national sports spotlight.

“UB fans have been supporting us all year, so I had to look over there and crank them up a little bit. It’s a big win for our program, but we’re not done yet,” Harris said in the Bulls locker room after the game, where a throng of reporters had descended.

It was a signature win for UB, and it was a long time coming, especially for 1965 UB alum Roy Manno, who played for the Bulls a half-century ago and then coached with the team for seven years.

“That was a great win. It’s history for UB,” said a joyful Manno, who wore his old UB jersey to the game. “If we play like that Saturday, the world will know Buffalo basketball even more than they do now.”

Asked if he plans to stay in Boise for the Bulls’ second-round matchup against fifth-seeded Kentucky — that game is set for a 5:30 p.m. EST tipoff on Saturday — Manno didn’t hesitate: “Are you kidding? I’ve waited 50 years for this!”

A sizable contingent of UB fans made the trip to Boise, and they were boisterous throughout the game, thanks to how well the Bulls were playing, as well as the energy being created by UB’s Thunder of the East marching band and the UB cheerleaders. Not to be outdone, Bulls mascot Victor E. Bull was in top form, soundly defeating Arizona’s Wilbur Wildcat in a dance-off during a TV timeout.

UB’s win was especially sweet for Brandy Pryor, the mom of freshman guard Jayvon Graves. “Wow,” an elated Pryor said in the stands after UB won. “We came here to upset Arizona and that’s what we did. They played hard, they stuck to the game plan and when you have a team like this, that’s as unselfish as they are, this is what you’re going to get.”

Pryor was joined by Graves’ stepfather, Jim Ladson, and aunt, Souleatha Calmese.

The game was nerve-rackingly close much of the way, but Pryor said she had a good feeling late in the second half, when UB started to build its lead. “I was thinking if we get to five minutes and we’re up 10, we’re going to win this thing.”

They were up by more than 10 at that point and, of course, they’re not heading back home just yet. And neither is Pryor.

But it wasn’t just UB fans rooting for the Bulls at Taco Bell Arena. Plenty of Boise residents were cheering for UB, including Jason Royce and his son, Colt. “It was wild. We’re from the area. We just happened to have tickets in the UB section and their fans kind of adopted (Colt) and gave him a hat,” Royce said, adding, “You always root for the upset. It was just a flat-out blowout. Buffalo’s good.”

UB fans knew that. Now, the rest of the country knows what they’ve been talking about all season.

“This is a dream come true. It was a great crowd,” said Bulls forward Ikenna Smart. “We were the underdog and in this city, Boise, everyone likes the underdog, but we knew what we were capable of doing.”

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