Men's Basketball | 11/17/2016 8:49:00 PM

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BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Bulls flexed their Division I basketball muscles Thursday against the Nazareth Golden Flyers as the Bulls dominated from start to finish for an 85-38 victory.

A regular-season game for the Bulls and an exhibition game for the Golden Flyers, the game was played in front of 3,152 fans  at UB's Alumni Arena. The Bulls, at 2-1 overall, now embark on a Thanksgiving trip to Anchorage, Alaska to compete in the Great Alaska Shootout. Nazareth, which opened its season with a 63-57 non-conference with at Oswego Tuesday, is home for two games this weekend as part of the Nazareth Tournament, sponsored Building Services Group and the Lodge at Woodcliff.

Nazareth plays Mount St. Mary Saturday at 8 p.m. University of Valley Forge plays Morrisville in the first game at 6 p.m. The consolation and championship games are Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m. respectively.

Nazareth played well against the Bulls early on as Josh Gillard connected on three three-point baskets in the first half. Sophomore Jake Burgio added eight points to keep Nazareth within 41-25 at halftime.

The Bulls pulled away in the second half by outscoring Nazareth 44-13. The Bulls shot 58.9 percent from the field (33-for-56) for the game, including 9-for-21 (42.9 percent) from three-point range. Nick Perkins made 8 of 11 shots from the floor to finish with a game-high 21 points. Willie Conner added 15 and Blake Hamilton passed for 11 assists.

The Bulls' superior height advantage -- with four of their five starters standing 6-foot-5 or taller -- forced the Golden Flyers to take some off-balance shots and resulted in a 26.2 shooting percentage (16-for-61). Buffalo also enjoyed a 47-23 rebounding advantage.

Sophomore guard Brendan Wind played well by scoring a team-high 10 points in 34 minutes of playing time. Gillard added nine points and Burgio had eight.