Box Score BUFFALO, N.Y.- Senior guard A.J. Johnson pumped in a game-high 19 points and Western Michigan's defense tightened down in the second half, as the Broncos improved to 10-5 overall and 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference with a 62-59 road victory at Buffalo Tuesday night.

The Broncos wiped away a six-point deficit in the first half, closing out the final 6:28 with a 14-4 run to lead 31-27 at halftime. WMU held the advantage the rest of the game, producing the program's first win in Buffalo since Feb. 7, 2005. It was just the third ever road win against the Bulls in 10 all-time meetings in UB's Alumni Arena.

“I am thrilled that we came out of here with a win,” said WMU head coach Shane Clipfell. “This was a huge road win for us. A.J. had one of her better games of the year and we needed every one of her buckets.”

Johnson had 11 points at halftime, scoring six during the run that helped WMU overtake the lead. Meredith Shipman also provided a spark during the rally, scoring four points and dishing out an assist to Johnson on a fast break layup to end the half.

Western Michigan forced Buffalo into 11 turnovers in the first half, resulting in 11 points for the Broncos and outscored UB on the break 8-0.

The Bronco defense shined in the second half, holding Buffalo leading scorer Kristen Sharkey scoreless in the final 20 minutes. Sharkey led her team with 13 points at halftime.

Western Michigan bounced back from a poor shooting performance in Saturday's loss at Ball State and shot over 40 percent in each half and 42.4 percent for the game. WMU held Buffalo, who was pegged as the MAC East preseason favorite, to just 34.4 percent shooting for the game.

WMU owned an 11-point lead with 9:57 to go and had to hold Buffalo off in the closing minutes. UB's MacKenzie Loesing cut the deficit to three with a 3-pointer in the corner off an inbounds with 14 seconds remaining. WMU's Miracle Woods and Buffalo's Camera Miley each hit free throws over the next three seconds, and with WMU still leading by three, Michelle O'Brien was unable to convert free throws with seven seconds left. UB rebounded and rushed down the court to take a well-defended three that fell off the mark and time expired.

“One of the bigger keys of the game was that we did not have turnovers until the final three minutes where we could have done a much better job of managing the game, but we survived and that is the most important part,” Clipfell said.

“We played a lot of zone and that defense was pretty good for the most part but we struggled to rebound and that cost us down the stretch too. It was the first time this year that we had a chance to seal the game from the foul line and we didn't succeed but our defense answered the bell and allowed us to survive.”

For the first MAC game this season, Western Michigan was outrebouned, 48-36, including 20-11 on the offensive glass.

Two other players joined Johnson in double figures, as Woods finished with 12 points, four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Marquisha Harris chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and three assists. O'Brien led the rebounding effort with seven boards and added six points.

Johnson hit three 3-pointers, giving her 99 for her career. Her 19 points was two shy of her career high.

Sharkey ended with a double-double for UB, totaling 13 points and 13 rebounds. Loesing had a team-high 18 points, followed by 15 points from Christa Baccas. Buffalo's record fell to 8-7 on the season and 1-3 in the MAC.

Western Michigan returns to Kalamazoo to host MAC West rival Toledo Saturday, Jan. 17 at 2 p.m. The Rockets (9-5, 2-1 MAC) host Akron (12-2, 2-1 MAC) Wednesday.