University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: December 18, 2003

Basketball

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UB 72, Colgate 49
UB 81, Niagara 79

UB extended its winning streak to four games and snapped a 23-game road losing streak with a pair of victories away from Alumni Arena last week. UB broke the string with a 72-49 win over Colgate in Hamilton on Dec. 9 and followed with a dramatic, 81-79 win at Niagara on Saturday.

Against Colgate, the Bulls used strong defensive pressure to force 18 turnovers and held the Raiders to only 15 field goals and 35.7 percent shooting from the floor on the night. Heading into the contest, Colgate was averaging 74 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting from the field.

Colgate jumped out to an early 8-4 lead before the Bulls mounted a 20-4 run to take control of the contest. The Bulls held the Raiders to only one field goal over a span of 9:30 and held a 37-22 halftime advantage.

The Raiders scored four unanswered points to open the second stanza and cut the UB lead to 11 points. However, the Bulls responded by going on an 11-3 run to extend their lead to 19 points and never looked back. UB's 23-point victory marked the third straight game that the Bulls have won by at least 18 points.

UB was led by Turner Battle, who scored a season-high 18 points, including nine of the Bulls' first 11 points in the second half. Yassin Idbihi tallied 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the floor. Calvin Cage broke out of a season-long shooting slump by scoring 13 points, including two three-pointers. Mark Bortz had 11 points, six rebounds and a game-high three steals.

The Bulls dominated the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Raiders, 39-22, and grabbing 16 offensive rebounds.

On Saturday night, Battle hit a leaning jumper with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the Bulls a thrilling 81-79 win over Niagara in front of a raucous, sellout crowd of 2,400 in the Gallagher Center. Battle's basket capped a stellar night as the junior point guard finished with 21 points, eight assists and five steals. It was the fourth-straight win for Buffalo (4-3).

The game featured the contrasting styles of Niagara's highly potent offense that ranked third in the nation in scoring (93.5 ppg) and UB's solid defensive play (64.0 points allowed per game). Defense won out on this night as UB forced 19 Niagara turnovers, had 11 steals and blocked five shots to hand the Purple Eagles their first loss of the season (4-1).

The Bulls held a 38-33 halftime lead after a strong opening stanza. UB shot 52 percent from the field and forced 11 Niagara turnovers in the first half. The Bulls jumped out to an early 5-0 lead and led most of the half. Niagara's biggest lead was at 25-21 on a bucket by Alvin Cruz. However, the Bulls went on an 11-2 run to recapture the lead 32-27. Bortz, who had 10 first-half points, had four during that stretch as the Bulls' bench outscored Niagara's, 13-2, in the first half.

In the second half, UB extended its lead to 48-39 on a bucket by Battle before Niagara embarked on a 9-0 run, highlighted by a dunk by Juan Mendez to tie the game at 48-48. Niagara took its first lead of the second half at 50-49 on two free throws by Mendez with 12:12 remaining. A pair of Mario Jordan free throws put UB ahead by one. A three-pointer by Cage extended the UB lead to 60-56 with 9:10 remaining. However, a James Reaves' layup, followed by a Tremmell Darden trey put the Purple Eagles up by one at the 7:53 mark. An undeterred UB squad mounted a 13-0 run to take a 73-61 lead with 4:26 remaining. However, Niagara answered right back by going on an 18-6 run, capped by a pair of Mendez free throws that tied the contest, 79-79.

With three seconds remaining, Battle curled off a screen set by Bortz at the top of the key, took two dribbles and hit a leaning 10-foot jumper to put UB up for good. Niagara's length-of-the-floor pass in the waning moments was knocked away to secure the victory for the Bulls.

Bortz had his best game of the young season, scoring 19 points on 9-for-12 shooting. Jordan also reached double-figures with 15 points, including two first-half three-pointers. Idbihi grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and had three blocked shots.

The Bulls are riding their first four-game winning streak since the 1996-97 season. It is also the first time in six seasons that UB has won consecutive road games. They were to host Robert Morris yesterday in Alumni Arena. The Bulls will close out December with a road game at Fairleigh Dickinson on Monday.

WOMEN'S

St. John's 57, UB 47
Niagara 87, UB 75

UB fell to the visiting St. John's Red Storm, 57-47, on Dec. 10. The Bulls led the majority of the first half and through the first four minutes of the second half before the Red Storm (4-3) used an 11-1 run to take control of the game. Buffalo senior Kim Kilpela led the Bulls with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.

The Bulls opened up a six-point lead, 17-11, with 7:58 to play in the first half, but St. John's stormed back to tie the score at 20-20 with just over three minutes to play. A three-pointer by SJU's Kim MacMillan put the Red Storm up 25-24 with 11 seconds on the clock, but UB sophomore Brooke Meunier hit a jumper just before the buzzer to send the Bulls to the locker room with a 26-25 lead—their first halftime lead of the season.

With the Bulls ahead 31-29 with 16:17 on the clock, a layup by Angie Clark tied the score and a jumper by Secrett Stubblefield gave the Red Storm a 33-31 lead with 15:44 to play in the game. The Bulls never regained the advantage, although they came back to tie the score at 37-37 with 10:16 on the clock. From there, St. John's embarked on an 11-1 run, keyed by six points from Clark, to open up a 10-point lead, 48-38, with just under six minutes remaining in the game. Junior Allison Bennett hit a three-pointer with 1:20 on the clock that cut the Red Storm's lead to six, 53-47, and gave the Bulls a chance, but they missed all five of their field goal attempts in the final minute before time expired.

Bennett and Meunier (10 points) also reached double digits in scoring for the Bulls, and senior Jessica Kochendorfer and freshman Kelly Calderone each grabbed eight rebounds. The Bulls shot 32.2 percent from the floor (19-for-59) in the game, and scored 32 points in the paint, 20 of those in the first half. The Red Storm shot 36.7 percent from the floor (22-for-60).

Against Niagara, strong three-point shooting and 30 points from the foul line lifted the Purple Eagles to an 87-75 win over the visiting Bulls at the Gallagher Center. Kochendorfer and Kilpela combined for 53 of the Bulls' 75 points, and the Bulls outscored the Purple Eagles by a 52-47 margin in the second half, but Niagara (3-2) hit nine three-point buckets in the game and made 30-of-37 free throw attempts for the difference.

The Bulls scored three buckets on their first three possessions in the first minute and four seconds of the game to jump out to a 6-0 lead, but the Purple Eagles then embarked on a 10-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish. Niagara led by as many as 19 points in the first half, and a buzzer-beating jumper by Meunier sent the Bulls to the locker room trailing by 17, 40-23. The Purple Eagles hit 6-of-13 three-point field-goal attempts in the first half, three of those by Colleen Toetz. Toetz scored 18 of her team-leading 26 points in the first half.

Niagara's biggest lead of the game, 50-30, came with 16:34 on the clock following a three-point play by Ann Mimm. The Bulls pounded the ball inside in the second half and cut Niagara's lead to seven, 71-64, following a steal by Bennett and a layup by Meunier with 2:27 remaining to play. A three-pointer by Chantelle Wilson on Niagara's next possession extended the Purple Eagles' lead to double digits again, 74-64, and the Bulls were forced to foul down the stretch. Niagara went 13-of-14 from the free throw line from that point on, including 12-of-12 in the final minute of play to secure the victory.

The Bulls shot 64.7 percent from the floor in the second half (22-for-34), and their 52 points are a season-high for a half and the most since a 56-point second half against North Carolina on Nov. 17, 2000. They finished with a 50.0 shooting percentage in the game (32-for-64), while Niagara shot 42.1 percent (24-for-57).

Kilpela finished with 26 points, 21 in the second half, and she tied her career high with 15 rebounds for her second consecutive double-double. Kochendorfer finished with 27 points, 17 in the second half, and eight boards. At the 11:00 mark of the first half, Kochendorfer hit a corner jumper for her 1,000th career point, making her just the 13th player in UB women's basketball history to reach the 1,000 mark for career scoring.

The Bulls (1-5) will return to the court to host Oakland at 1 p.m. Sunday in Alumni Arena.

Wrestling

UB 41, James Madison 3
UB 33, East Stroudsburg 9
UB 25, Sacred Heart 10

UB won all three of its matches in the Northeast Duals on Sunday in Albany. The Bulls dropped James Madison, 41-3, to open the day. They followed with a 33-9 victory over East Stroudsburg and finished with a 25-10 win over Sacred Heart. The three wins improved the Bulls' record to 8-0 for the season.

Mark McKnight, Mike Trotta, Ed Pawlakand Kyle Cerminara each finished with three individual victories on the day. McKnight, wrestling in the 125-pound class, scored two of his victories by pin.

UB will travel to the Beast of the East Classic in Newark, Del. tomorrow.

Awards

Russell sisters, Bradford earn postseason honors

Seniors Emily Russell and Devon Russell were named to the Northeast Region Women's Soccer team as voted on by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Emily Russell had a stellar offensive campaign for the Bulls. The senior forward led UB in goals (15) and points (34). Her 15 goals in 2003 were the second most tallied in a season in UB history. Twice this season, she scored three or more goals in a game. She was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 8. and to the All-MAC First Team in 2003.

This marks the second time that Devon Russell has been honored by the NSCAA. The senior defender was named to the Northeast Region Second Team in 2001. This season, Russell started all 20 games and registered two goals and two assists. She was named the MAC Player of the Week and Scholar Athlete of the Week on Sept. 3. This is the third postseason award garnered by Devon , who also was named to the All-MAC First Team and Academic All-MAC team following the 2003 season.

In football, freshman cornerback Delando Bradford earned a spot on The Sporting News Freshman All-American teams released this week.

Bradford was among only six corners honored nationally as he was selected to the third team after ranking among the national freshman leaders in tackles in his first season. Bradford started all 12 games for the Bulls and finished seventh on the team in total tackles (63), third in solo stops (48), second in passes defended (6) while adding two quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

He had a career-high eight tackles and recovered a fumble in UB's win over Ohio and also had eight stops (seven solos) against Connecticut. He had seven tackles in four games and broke up two passes against nationally ranked Northern Illinois.