Recap: Evansville vs. Buffalo

Evansville, IN (Sports Network) - Javon McCrea scored 14 points as he helped guide the Buffalo Bulls to its first win, 56-50, over the Evansville Purple Aces at the Ford Center as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.

McCrea was two rebounds shy of a double-double, finishing with eight boards for Buffalo (1-2). Also scoring in double figures was Cameron Downing, who came off the bench to hit all six of his shots to finish with 12 points.

Lewis Jones scored 14 points off the bench and went 2-of-2 from beyond the arc for the Purple Aces (0-2). Egidijus Mockevicius and Ned Cox chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Despite being down nine points, Buffalo fought back to a two point deficit before the half. Troy Taylor made a pair of free throws with five seconds left in the first period, giving Evansville a 27-25 advantage going into the break.

Evansville kept the game close in the second half, but six critical free throws in the last 30 seconds were made by Buffalo to seal the win.

Despite shooting 1-of-9 from three point range, Buffalo shot 48.9 percent from the field. Evansville shot 3-of-19 from beyond the arc and managed 34.5 percent shooting from the floor.