Ticket prices, dates and times have been set for the 1996 Mid-Continent Women's Basketball Tournament to be hosted by UB. The tournament, which carries with it an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament to the winner, will be held March 7-9 at UB's Alumni Arena. The UB Royals were chosen as the host team by virtue of their 10-3 first-place record as of Feb. 13.

The tournament tips off March 7 with games at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Semifinals are March 8 with games at 5 and 7 p.m. The championship game will be at 3 p.m. March 9.

Tickets for all games are $5, adults; $2, children 12-and-under and $1 for all Mid-Continent institution students with proper I.D. All ticketing will be general admission. The UB ticket office is open 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or tickets can be charged by calling 645-6666.

Pairings for the tournament will be released March 3, the day the men's Mid-Continent tournament begins in Moline, Ill. Although the Royals have home court advantage throughout the tournament, seedings will be determined on full conference play. The Royals seek to become the first UB women's basketball team in school history to advance to the NCAA Tournament, which begins March 15 at campus sites.

The UB men's basketball program became full-fledged members of the "Big Four" last week in a press conference announcing their inclusion along with Canisius, Niagara and St. Bonaventure in WNY college basketball doubleheaders at the new Marine Midland Arena next season. Nelson Townsend, UB's Director of Athletics, was on hand for the signing of a five-year deal among the four WNY Division I schools. Since returning to Div. I play in the 1991-92 season, the Bulls have played Niagara seven times, winning four games, and Canisius three times (0-3), including an 82-75 loss at Koessler Center this year. The Bulls have played St. Bonaventure once since returning to Div. I play, a 74-64 loss in Olean Dec. 12.

n UB TO PLAY SYRACUSE NEXT YEAR

The UB Bulls basketball team will host national powerhouse Syracuse University at Marine Midland Arena next December, Nelson Townsend has announced. UB will take on the Orangemen as part of a doubleheader Dec. 10 at Marine Midland Arena. The Bulls will be a part of three doubleheaders in the new downtown arena next season, including games against local rivals Canisius and Niagara.

"We're very excited about the opportunity to host a team the caliber of Syracuse University," said Townsend . "We feel this game is another example of the growth of our program, in particular, and WNY basketball in general. These are the types of games that can bring the excitement of college basketball back to our area."

Said UB coach Tim Cohane, "For us to play Syracuse away from the Carrier Dome is a big thing for us. I think that game will help contribute greatly to the resurgence of basketball in WNY."

The Bulls have not played Syracuse since the 1975-76 season.

The UB women's basketball team will also play Syracuse next season. The Royals play at Syracuse Dec. 22; the Orangewomen will return to Alumni Arena during the 1997-98 season. "We're very excited about the opportunity to play another Big East school," said UB coach Sal Buscaglia. "We've had success this season by beating teams from the Big East, the Big West and Atlantic 10 and would like to see a yearly rivalry evolve with Syracuse."

The Royals rolled to their 14th consecutive win at Alumni Arena with a 70-43 pasting of Eastern Illinois Saturday night. Brenna Doty led the way for UB with 15 points, all in the first half. Doty pulled down five rebounds and had a pair of steals. Charissa Gardner was the only other Royal in double figures, scoring 11 points and leading the team with seven rebounds. Nicole Blakeslee and Melanie Vogel added nine points.

The 43 points allowed by the Royals were the fewest this season as UB held the Panthers to 25.5 percent field goal shooting. The Royals lead the Mid-Continent Conference and are ranked eighth nationally in field goal defense at 35.6 percent.

Earlier in the week, UB locked up the host site for the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament with a 84-45 win at Chicago State. Four Royals scored in double figures. Blakeslee and Megan McCray led with 13 points each. Doty and Alicia Kollmorgen had 11.

Eastern Illinois shot a blistering 10-of-19 from beyond the three-point line and rallied from a second-half deficit to defeat UB 64-61, in a Mid-Continent Conference game Saturday night at Alumni Arena. The Bulls (13-9, 10-5) were led by Mike Martinho's 17 points while Bernard Wheeler added 14 and six steals. Buffalo fell behind 20-9 in the first seven minutes but rallied to trail at halftime, 31-29. The Bulls held a 57-52 lead with 4:18 left after a pair of free throws by Martinho but they managed only four more points the rest of the way. Rick Kaye hit a pair of three-pointers to put Eastern Illinois up 58-57 before UB tied it on a free throw by Leonard Tangishaka. Eastern Illinois took the lead for good on a layup by Eric Frankford and Johnny Hernandez' three-pointer with 1:03 left was the winning basket for the Panthers. Martinho tied his career high with 35 points to lead the Bulls past Chicago State 78-68 earlier in the week. Robert Harris was the only other Bull in double figures with 15 points; Tangishaka led the rebounders with eight.

Alumni Arena Natatorium will be the site of the Mid-Continent Conference Men's and Women's Swim Championships this week. Preliminary competition begins at 11 a.m. Thursday through Saturday with finals each evening at 7 p.m.

Both the Bulls and Royals look to repeat as league champions. The Bulls under head coach Budd Termin have won six consecutive conference crowns as members of the Upper New York, East Coast and Mid-Continent Conferences. The Royals will be in search of their third straight crown for head coach Dorsi Raynolds.

The Bulls scored an East Coast Wrestling Association victory with their 37-3 win at Hofstra Saturday. Four Bulls scored major victories giving UB their sixth dual meet win of the season, equaling the number of dual meet victories in the previous five seasons.

UB was led by Brian Dowdall (118 pounds), Jeromy McVige (134), Rob Pavis (142) and John Stutzman (150) to grab an early 20-0 edge over the Flying Dutchmen and secure the match. "I thought our guys came out and wrestled a very good meet," said first year coach Jim Beichner. The Bulls swept three matches Sunday, downing Boston College (35-6), Massachusetts-Lowell (26-6) and Central Connecticut State (24-10) to up their record to 9-4. The Bulls are now 5-2 in ECWA dual matches. Jason Wartinger (126) scored two major decisions on the weekend and is 31-4 overall this season. He has not lost since Dec. 30 and has outscored his last 13 opponents 152-47. The Bulls, undefeated in their last six dual meets, have outscored their opponents 168-49. They host Duquesne at Alumni Arena Saturday at 3 p.m.

Thom Kaye qualified for the indoor and outdoor IC4A Championships with a school record long jump of 23-5.5 at the Kane Invitational at Cornell University. Mike Spitz finished second in the pole vault competition at 14-9. Both squads are in action this weekend in the Mid-Continent Conference Championships at Eastern Illinois, Thursday through Saturday. The Royals, defending conference champions, have not lost a Mid-Con championship since joining the league in 1994. They have won two cross country championships as well as last season's indoor and outdoor crowns.

-Ted Wasko, Sports Information Office