Box Score AMHERST, N.Y. – The Roberts Wesleyan University men's basketball team got a taste of what life is like in NCAA Division I on Wednesday night.
The Redhawks took on the University at Buffalo, a member of the Mid-American Conference, at Alumni Arena in a contest that counted as a game for UB, but was an exhibition for Roberts.
Roberts battled the entire 40 minutes, before dropping an 89-83 decision to the Bulls.
"I definitely was happy with the effort," Roberts coach Mark Saladzius said. "We played very hard and made a good amount of plays and we turned them over a good amount. ... We didn't have a lot of turnovers, but they were able to turn us over at critical times. It's different when you are going up against that type of size and athleticism."
Senior guard Malik Brooks scored 23 points to lead Roberts, which placed five players in double figures.
Junior Jermaine Taggart II added 13 points and Marlon Pratt Jr., Ryan Hudson and Elijah Edwards all added 11.
UB shot 61.4% from the field (27 of 44) and held a 46-17 advantage in rebounding.  Roberts forced 28 turnovers and held a 35-13 advantage in bench points. The Redhawks outscored the Bulls, 41-38, in the second half.
The two teams hadn't played against each other in nearly 40 years, with UB, which was a member of the Division III SUNYAC conference at the time, defeating Roberts, which was competing at the NAIA level, 75-64 on Jan. 14, 1984.
"(Playing well against that caliber of opponent) was definitely good for the guys," Saladzius said. "We were able to assess and see where our mistakes were and what we need to do in terms of making adjustments." 
Roberts returns to Division II action on Thursday with a 6 p.m. non-conference game at Lock Haven.