OXFORD — In his first game back after being dismissed from the team and then reinstated, Alex Shorts led Miami to a 78-68 victory over Buffalo Monday.

        “That's my job,” said Shorts after a game-high 19 points.

        The victory lifted Miami (12-16, 9-8) back over .500 in the Mid-American Conference after four straight losses. It also clinched a first-round home game in next week's MAC Tournament.

        When asked about the difficulty of being away from the team, Shorts said, “It wasn't tough at all.” And he said he wants everyone to know how much he “loves” his coach.

        Coach Charlie Coles and Shorts met Friday, and Coles decided to bring back his leading scorer as a sign of not giving up on him, rather than for wins or losses. The meeting nearly left both in tears.

        “Alex is an emotional guy,” Coles said. “If I got him, I'm going to play him.”

        Shorts was most valuable to Miami late in the second half as Buffalo continually fouled Miami's best free-throw shooter in hopes of climbing back into it after Miami built a 10-point advantage. Turnovers and fouls kept Buffalo from making any serious threat as the Bulls turned it over 23 times and committed 28 fouls.

        “You can't expect to come in here and turn the ball over that many times and beat them,” Buffalo coach Reggie Witherspoon said.

        Shorts did show some rust, hitting 9-of-13 from the line (69 percent), nearly 20 percentage points lower than his season average (88 percent).

        Shorts entered the game with 7:52 remaining in the first half and received a warm welcome from the crowd of 2,622. Shorts promptly turned the ball over after attempting a drive. His first field goal came right before halftime and tied the score at 30.

        Coles kept Shorts in the lineup to start the second half and Shorts responded by hitting all four of his field goal attempts. More importantly for Coles, Shorts stayed within the offense.

        “I have got to be the only coach in America who kicked a kid off the team for not running the offense,” Coles said. “It is not like he broke any team rules or wasn't hustling. He just wouldn't run my offense.”

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