GAME NOTES: Following a season-opening win over Bradley on the road, the Texas-Arlington Mavericks will return home to face the Buffalo Bulls in a non-conference clash at College Park Center as part of the Cawood Ledford Classic.

Buffalo has played twice already this season, earning a 1-1 record. The team took down South Dakota State Friday night, then hung tough with top-ranked Kentucky in en eventual 71-52 loss to the Wildcats.

UT Arlington took down Bradley by an 86-75 score Friday night, which opened the college basketball season. The Mavericks are starting up their second season in the Sun Belt Conference one year after earning a 15-17 overall record.

This contest between Buffalo and UT Arlington represents the first time these two programs will meet on the hardwood.

Buffalo hosted South Dakota State in the team's first game of the regular season, and defeated the Jackrabbits, 69-67. The Bulls lost a big name from their roster in the offseason in Javon McCrea, but the team was able to pull away from that thought in the season-opening win. The Buffaloes went to Kentucky, the nation's No. 1-ranked program, and actually led the Wildcats at halftime, 38-33. But Kentucky woke up while in the locker room, and ended up defeating the Bulls by 19 points. Jarryn Skeete made the greatest impact for the Bulls, netting 16 points in the defeat.

Justin Moss leads the Bulls through two games with 16.5 ppg (which includes a poster dunk over Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein), adding in 9.5 rpg and two blocked shots. Skeete's 16-point performance booted his scoring stat to 10.0 ppg, and sixth man Xavier Ford has 7.0 rpg through two contests played. The Bulls are averaging 60.5 ppg through the two outings, and are giving up 69.0 ppg to opponents.

Last season (UT Arlington's first as a Sun Belt member), the Mavericks finished third in the conference in scoring with a 76.4 ppg mark. That number may dip a bit this time around, considering last season's leading scorer Reger Dowell (20.3 ppg) is no longer around. Brandon Edwards (16.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg) is also no longer there, so much of the scoring will likely have to fall to Lonnie McClanahan (14.0 ppg), while Jamel Outler (11.2 ppg) should see an increased role as the team moves forward.

Drew Charles led the Mavericks in scoring against Bradley with 14 points, but the guard did turn the ball over seven times in the contest. Kevin Hervey, Outler and Johnny Hill all registered 13 points apiece in the win, while McClanahan came off the bench and only played 22 minutes, notching five turnovers and seven points.

After such a heavy turnaround in the offseason, not many thought Buffalo would be able to pull through for a second straight fight toward the MAC title. Obviously it's early in the season, but by leading Kentucky at halftime, the Bulls officially have their name out there. Going on the road is never easy, but Buffalo is riding a high even after a 19-point loss.