University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: December 11, 2003

Basketball

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UB 82, Bowling Green 64

UB 86, Youngstown State 66

UB opened Mid-American Conference play in grand fashion by dismantling Bowling Green, 82-64, on Dec. 3 in Alumni Arena. Five Bulls finished in double-figures, led by Turner Battle, who scored 17 points. Daniel Gilbert and Jason Bird each had 14 points, while Mario Jordan and Roderick Middleton each notched 12. It was the first time in school history that the Bulls had defeated Bowling Green.

Free throws—the Achilles' heel of the Bulls in their season-opening loss to Canisius—saved them against Bowling Green. UB shot 35-for-44 from the charity stripe, including 28-for-32 in the second half. The 35 free throws were the second-most in school history. Battle shot a career-best 12-for-14 from the line.

Bowling Green jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before UB mounted a furious 22-3 scoring run to take a 24-10 lead and never looked back. During the run, the Bulls drained four three-pointers, including two by Bird. UB held a 42-33 halftime advantage.

The Bulls won without starting forward and leading scorer B.J. Walker, who was sidelined with an injured back. Witherspoon shook up the starting lineup and gave Jordan and Yassin Idbihi their first-ever starts. Jordan responded by tying a career-high with 12 points and added seven rebounds and four steals. He also took six charges. Idbihi tallied four points, six rebounds and a blocked shot.

UB won its second straight game in convincing fashion, 86-66, over Youngstown State at Alumni Arena on Saturday night. For the second straight game, the Bulls had five players score in double-figures. Jordan led UB with a career-high 16 points.

Three was the Bulls' magic number early on as their first three shots from the field were treys. The Bulls' third three-pointer, by Gilbert, snapped an 8-8 tie and gave the Bulls the lead for good. UB turned up the defensive pressure early on and mounted a 20-4 scoring run. The Bulls forced 13 first-half turnovers that led to easy transition baskets, highlighted by two Jordan breakaway jams that brought the 1,889 in attendance to their feet. UB led at the break, 47-24.

It was much of the same in the second half as Youngstown State got no closer than 18 points, allowing the Bulls to cruise to the 20-point victory.

Idbihi tallied a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Mark Bortz notched a season-high 15 points and blocked three shots. Bird and Middleton also reached double-figures with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

UB dominated the play inside, outscoring the Penguins, 42-28, in the paint. The Bulls also shot 50 percent (8-16) from beyond the arc, led by Bird, who hit three treys.

The Bulls (2-3 overall, 1-0 in the MAC) were to travel to Colgate and face the Red Raiders on Tuesday night.

WOMEN'S

UB 68, Youngstown State 58

Auburn 82, UB 32

A solid defensive game plan and a 48-point second half led UB to its first win of the season over the visiting Youngstown State Penguins, 68-58, in front of 867 fans on Dec. 3 in Alumni Arena. Three Bulls players finished in double figures in scoring, led by senior Jessica Kochendorfer with a game-high 19 points. The 48 points in the second half is the most the Bulls have scored in a half since a 56-point explosion in the second half of their season-opening, 95-89 upset win over 22nd-ranked North Carolina on Nov. 17, 2000.

The Bulls jumped out to a 20-12 lead with four and a half minutes to go in the first half before the Penguins went on a 10-0 run, led by five points from Melissa Tarrant and a three-pointer by Kristy Gaudiose, to take a 22-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. Youngstown State then began the second half with a 9-4 run to open up a seven-point lead, 31-24, with 17:35 to play in the game. But sophomore Brooke Meunier scored six of the Bulls' next nine points to start a 17-6 UB run that put the Bulls back on top. Freshman Kelly Calderone hit the Bulls' first three-pointer in the game during the run, and fed senior Kim Kilpela for the game-tying bucket (37-37) at the 12:15 mark. Kilpela then fed Kochendorfer for the go-ahead score with 11:20 on the clock. Kochendorfer's next bucket completed the 17-6 run, giving Buffalo a 41-37 lead. The Bulls led by as many as 14 points down the stretch en route to the 10-point victory.

UB shot 60.7 percent from the floor in the second half (17-for-28) and 46.3 percent for the game (25-for-54). Junior Allison Bennett (13 points) and Meunier (12 points) each reached double digits in scoring while grabbing six rebounds apiece. Kilpela finished with nine points, three rebounds and two assists, and Calderone, making her first collegiate start, added eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

On Sunday, the Bulls could not keep up with the 25th-ranked Auburn Tigers, dropping an 82-32 decision in front of 1,896 fans in Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum.

Auburn (6-2) used runs of 8-0, 9-0 and 11-1 to take a 24-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 35-11. The Bulls shot just 19 percent from the floor in the half (4-for-21), and committed 17 turnovers that the Tigers converted into 21 points. Auburn then opened the second half with a 21-0 run during the first seven minutes to go up, 56-11, before a bucket by Kilpela with 12:57 to play finally got UB on the board. Kilpela led the Bulls with 13 points and nine rebounds in the game.

The Tigers scored 43 of their 82 points off of UB's 30 turnovers in the game, and shot 47.0 percent from the floor (31-for-66), compared to the Bulls' 25.0 percent (11-for-44). Auburn held a 43-30 advantage in rebounds and scored 21 second-chance points.

The Bulls (1-3) were to host St. John's last night in Alumni Arena.

Wrestling

UB 21, Kent State 13

UB 39, Mount Union 6

UB picked up a pair of victories on Sunday, including the first in the MAC at the Kent State Duals. UB downed the host Golden Flashes, 21-13, in league play and also blew past Mount Union, 39-6, in the day's second match. The Bulls also were scheduled to face James Madison on Sunday, but the Dukes were forced to cancel their trip due to inclement weather that forced the school's final exam schedule into the weekend.

Six Bulls—Mark McKnight at 125, Mike Trotta at 141, Patrick Lloyd at 149, Nick Rausenberger at 165, Ed Pawlak at 174 and Kyle Cerminara at 197—went 2-0 on the afternoon. McKnight scored a major decision against his Kent State opponent and scored a pin against Mount Union to give the Bulls early leads they would not relinquish. Trotta scored two major decisions, while Pawlak and Cerminara won by pin over their Mount Union opponents.

Against the Purple Raiders, UB won all but the 157-pound match and took six of the nine victories by pin or major decision.

The Bulls, 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the MAC, will be at the Albany Duals on Sunday, where they will face East Stroudsburg, American University and Sacred Heart

Swimming

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UB relayers score points; Oren reaches finals at U.S. Swimming Open Championships

For the first time, UB scored points at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships. The Bulls scored two points for their 16th-place finish in the 400-meter medley relay and had some strong individual results at the meet, held in the Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash.

UB's top 400-meter medley relay foursome of Mark Sy (backstroke), Aviv Oren (breaststroke), Kevin Gatley (butterfly) and Jon Yarger (freestyle) placed 16th among 20 entrants with a 4:05.10 clocking. Canada's top national foursome won the race in 3:42.16. The top 16 teams or individuals in all championship races are awarded points on a sliding scale. Relay events are awarded double the points an individual event would earn, giving UB its two team points.

The Bulls also had a second foursome compete in the 400-meter medley relay, finishing 18th in 4:06.91. That entry consisted of Kurt Bessel (backstroke), Geoff Wells (breaststroke), Alan Lowe (butterfly) and Tony Lizauckas (freestyle).

Individually, Oren reached the finals in the 100-meter breaststroke. The junior finished 24th in an overall field of 47 entrants in 1:06.80 as the top 24 advanced to the evening competition following the preliminary round. Oren, the MAC champion in the 100-yard breaststroke at the 2003 league meet in March, reached the finals after qualifying 22nd in the preliminary round on Dec. 4. He turned in a lifetime-best 1:06.42 in his opening swim of the meet, enabling him to make the final round of competition. Florida's William Mrazek won the C final race in 1:05.59, after qualifying for the finals a quarter-second (1:06.79) slower than Oren. Thijs van Valkengoed of the Netherlands won the championship race in a meet record 1:01.52, with Scott Usher, who had beaten Oren at last month's Purdue Invitational, placing second in 1:01.85.

Several individuals also competed in time trial races in an attempt for more national and international competition during the weekend. Three Bulls swam in the 400-meter medley relay time trial, with Lowe finishing in 4:15.30, Sy in 4:15.93 and Yarger in 4:18.91. Yarger also swam a 200-meter freestyle time trial in 2:03.01, while Sy clocked a 2:10.88 in the 200-meter butterfly time trial. Gatley completed his 100-meter butterfly time trial in 1:00.76. Wells swam time trials at both breaststroke distances, turning in a 100-meter breaststroke time of 1:07.26 and 2:34.89 in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Final exams now are on the agenda for the Bulls. They will return to the water following the upcoming holidays when they host Canisius. on Jan. 10

WOMEN'S

Relayers impressive against top national competition at U.S. Open Championships

The UB women also competed in the U.S. Open Swimming Championships over the weekend

The Bulls opened the meet with the 800-meter freestyle relay foursome of Jennefer Brankovsky, Jolie Pun, Kahla Walkinshaw and Frances Stephenson finishing 22nd in 8:46.19 among a field of 32 teams. UB also fielded a foursome for the 400-meter medley relay, placing 29th among 41 squads in 4:32.35. The entry consisted of Abby Delia swimming the backstroke, Brankovsky on the breaststroke portion, Walkinshaw on the butterfly stroke and Stephenson swimming the freestyle leg. Both relays were timed final events, meaning that no preliminary races were held and all teams competed for the top spot against time.

Brankovsky also competed in three individual events. The junior started the meet with a personal-best mark of 2:23.18 in the 200-meter individual medley to place 42nd. It was the same event that she finished 19th in at last season's meet in Minneapolis when she clocked a 2:23.66. Olympic gold medalist Yana Klochkova of the Ukraine won the overall title in the event with a meet record of 2:14.34. Finishing second was 14-year-old Katie Hoff of Baltimore in an American age group record time of 2:16.26, earning the teenager a spot at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials. The championship final was delayed briefly after power was knocked out just as the swimmers were taking the blocks.

Brankovsky also placed 64th in a field of 89 in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:45.35 and tied for 73rd among 108 in the 100-meter butterfly (1:05.19) with Liz van Welie of New Zealand.

The squad now heads into the semester's final exams and some winter training. UB will travel to Florida for the Islamorada Invitational on Jan. 10. The meet, a regular excursion for the team, is used for training and no team scores are kept. UB's next home meet will be Jan. 15 against Niagara.

Indoor Track and Field

Bulls open strong at Kent State Golden Gala

The men's and women's teams opened the indoor track-and-field season in strong fashion at the Kent State Golden Gala on Saturday.

UB athletes won five events at the competition. Men's jumper Reggie Rucker, who had redshirted the 2002-03 season, got off to a strong start by winning two events-he long jump at 23-7 (7.20m) and the triple jump at 47-0 (14.33m). Rucker was the lone men's competitor to take home first-place honors for the Bulls.

For the UB women, distance runners Allison Laske and Jenny Koeppel were victorious in their season-opening races. Laske took the 800-meter run in 2:12.42. Koeppel earned the top spot in the 3,000-meter run in 10:19.04.

Pole vaulter Laura Olson also secured a victory for the Bulls with a height of 12-6 (3.80m).

The squads will return to Kent State for their next meet, the Black Squirrel Invitational, Jan. 9-10.