UB's Dontay Caruthers enjoys the spotlight, no matter how he gets it, and in 2017 he earned shine by being named the MAC Defensive Player of the Year.

"Caruthers is as valuable to us as anybody on the team,” said coach Nate Oats. “His whole effort, his whole mentality, he is like a little pit bull out there. His close outs, his effort getting through screens. He is a pro on defense."

That dog is what the Bulls need: they have scoring with four guys netting 10 points per, but Caruther's tenacity is what truly energizes UB.

"It is not an easy job, it is not a glamorous job. The guy getting mentioned on ESPN is the guy who scores 25, not the guy who holds the other guy to 15. It's huge, it's huge,” said UB assistant coach Bryan Hodgson.

Now, being a lock-down defender wasn't always Caruther's forte. In high school, the letter D is about all Dontay and Defense had in common. Then his mom started to ding his pocket.

"In high school we played a zone for me because every time I got scored on she would take away $5, I would have to give her $5, so now it is $10,” he said.

Besides mom's collection plate, Dontay also sees defense as his guide to possibly making way more than $5 or $10 playing hoops in the future.

"It is one thing that most people don't take serious is defense,” Caruthers said. “Most people want to score, but there aren't going to be that many LeBrons, James Hardens, those guys need Trevor Arizas, Patrick Beverleys, some Avery Bradley.... Offense sells tickets, but defense wins games."

It's easy to think all Dontay cares about is ball and dollar bills, but he's a different cat once you dig a little deeper.

Basketball isn't number one in his life. It may not be number two or three either. First is his education; he is already working on his Masters. Then comes his family and also his faith.

"I thank God every day, my grandma is really big on that, and we pray every night together,” Caruthers said. “Just trying to stay humble and grateful to be healthy to even play basketball. Just staying blessed that I am a part of this team and just here, I am blessed."

Offense may help UB sell tickets when they return to Alumni Arena Friday, but they're thankful it's Dontay and his leadership on defense that is winning games.