University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: February 12, 2004

Basketball

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Eastern Michigan 77, UB 66
UB 77, Marshall 58

It was a week of highs and lows for the Bulls in their two home contests last week.

UB had its three-game winning streak snapped by Eastern Michigan, 77-66, in Alumni Arena on Feb. 4. The Bulls suffered from poor three-point and free throw shooting, going 4-for-19 from beyond the arc and 10-for-24 from the charity stripe.

Early on, UB resembled the team that was riding a three-game winning streak, quickly jumping out to a 9-2 lead. The Bulls held the lead throughout the first half, but ineptness at the free throw line prevented them from expanding their lead and putting the game away. UB held a 34-31 halftime advantage.

A jumper by Turner Battle gave the Bulls a 45-38 lead with 14:10 left in the game. However, from that point on, UB shooters went ice cold. Eastern Michigan capitalized by going on an 18-3 run over the next seven minutes to take an eight-point lead. A three-point play by Daniel Gilbert cut the EMU lead to 58-54 with 6:02 remaining. However, the Eagles answered with an 11-1 run to seal the victory.

On Saturday, the Bulls rebounded with a strong showing in front of one of the largest home crowds of the year and a regional television audience. Mark Bortz scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds and MAC All-Freshman candidate Yassin Idbihi tallied a career-high 19 points to lead UB to a 77-58 victory over Marshall in Alumni Arena.

UB (9-10, 5-6) led the game wire-to-wire. A layup by Mario Jordan sparked a 10-0 run that gave the Bulls a 19-6 lead with 12:41 left in the first half. Within the run, a triple by Battle gave the Bulls an 11-point lead. UB held a double-digit lead for the rest of the game. A layup by Bortz extended the Bulls' advantage to 39-17 with 3:01 left in the first half. The Thundering Herd closed the first stanza on an 8-2 run to cut the UB lead to 42-25 at the half.

Marshall never threatened in the second half. Leading 63-44 with 7:58 left on the clock, the Bulls went on a 14-4 run to extend their lead to 29 points. Marshall scored the final 10 points of the game to cut the UB lead to 19 points at the end of the game.

UB will host Central Michigan at 3 p.m. on Saturday in Alumni Arena. The game against the Chippewas is part of an afternoon doubleheader with the UB women's team.

WOMEN'S

UB 65, Toledo 61
Ohio 85, UB 65

UB split a pair of Mid-American Conference contests during the week, downing Toledo, 65-61, on Feb. 3 in Alumni Arena and falling on the road at Ohio, 85-65, on Saturday. The Bulls are now 5-14 overall and 3-6 in league play.

Sophomore Brooke Meunier hit a jumper and a free throw in the final 27 seconds of the game to ensure UB's win over Toledo, snapping a three-game losing streak and giving the Bulls their first-ever win against the Rockets.

After trailing much of the first half, Meunier's jumper on the Bulls' first possession of the second half tied the score at 33-33, and she later hit a three-pointer to end a 12-3 Buffalo run to open the half and put the Bulls ahead by seven, 43-36.

The Bulls led by as many as nine points, 55-46, with 8:13 remaining in the game, but the Rockets would not fold and gradually chipped away to cut the lead to three, 60-57, with 2:34 left on the clock.

Junior Talia Merlino and Toledo's Mary Blessing exchanged buckets to make the score 62-59, and Karin Hoogendam then got the Rockets within one, 62-61, with a second-chance bucket with 57 seconds to play. The Bulls called a timeout, and Meunier knocked down a tough shot from the top of the key over Blessing with the shot clock winding down to put the Bulls up, 64-61, with 27 seconds left. Toledo's Leah Gonnella then missed a three-pointer and Meunier grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled by Blessing. With 12 seconds to play, Meunier missed her first shot but made her second to put the game out of reach at 65-61. Toledo's Julie Hillis attempted a desperation three-point shot with four seconds remaining, but Jessica Kochendorfer emphatically blocked it and grabbed the ball to secure the Bull's victory.

The Bulls' fortunes turned on Saturday as the Ohio Bobcats shot 47.3 percent from the floor and hit 11 three-pointers en route to a 20-point victory, 85-65, over the visiting Bulls.

The Bobcats opened the scoring on a driving layup by Angel Hornsburger on their first possession to take a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the game.

Three-pointers by junior Allison Bennett and freshman Kelly Calderone twice got the Bulls within three, 11-8 and 17-14, but the Bobcats put together a 7-0 run to open up a double-digit lead, 24-14, with 9:23 left in the half. Two late three-pointers by Lindsay Wight ended a 12-2 Ohio run to close the half and put the Bobcats up by 19, 43-24.

UB struggled offensively to begin the second half, making just one of its first six shots—another three-pointer by Bennett—and the Bobcats jumped out to a 30-point lead, 61-31, with 12:26 left to play. Ohio led by as many as 33 points down the stretch, and a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Stacey Musacchia ended the game at 85-65.

The Bulls are home for their next three games, beginning with a contest against Kent State yesterday that was part of UB's 14th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration. UB also will host Akron at 1 p.m. on Saturday as part of a men's and women's afternoon doubleheader.

Swimming

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UB takes UB Invitational title

Although UB won just five of the 20 events, the Bulls claimed the UB Invitational title by an impressive margin. UB ended the two-day meet on Sunday with 1,250 points to St. Bonaventure's 1,130. Niagara was third at 280 with Colgate, which only sent divers to compete in Saturday's three-meter event, scoring 14 points.

Mark Sy picked up two individual wins and a relay victory to lead the Bulls. Sy led the Bulls to the top three spots in the 200 individual medley with a clocking of 1:55.89. Jeff Hurst placed second in 1:58.41 and Erik Schwarz was third in 1:59.28. Sy also swam the opening leg of the Bulls' winning 800 freestyle relay squad (7:07.34), along with Luke Adams, Hurst and Ryan Cahill. Sy took the 200 butterfly title in 1:55.68, more than two seconds faster than St. Bonaventure's Patrick Doret.

Sophomore Patrick Lee claimed the one-meter diving victory for UB's other victory. Lee scored 295.85 points for his six dives to finish ahead of St. Bonaventure's Randy Kozlowski by more than 16 points. Lee finished second to Kozlowski in the three-meter finals.

UB assured itself of first place in the team standings after Saturday's first two rounds thanks to its top four showings in the 400 individual medley. Hurst touched the wall first in 4:12.38, followed by Schwarz in 4:15.10, Sy in 4:20.57 and Dustin Hui in 4:22.53.

The Bulls used the Invitational's format as a precursor to their postseason meets, which will begin on Feb. 27 with the ECAC Championships. The MAC Championships start the following week.

WOMEN'S

UB 164, Bowling Green 136
UB places first in UB Invitational

A full plate of home cooking gave UB a dual-meet win over Bowling Green on Friday and the title in the UB Invitational over the weekend.

The Bulls scored a 164-136 victory over MAC rival Bowling Green in Alumni Arena Natatorium. With the win, UB improved to 7-4 overall and completed its MAC schedule with a 4-4 record. The four MAC wins are the most by a UB women's squad since joining the league in the 1998-99 season.

UB scored wins in nine of the 16 events to take the meet from the Falcons. UB junior Jennefer Brankovsky won all three of her individual races and added a relay win to lead the Bulls.

Swimmer Abby Delia and diver Ashlee Burton also were multiple winners for the Bulls. Delia, a senior, swept the backstroke races, winning the 100 in 59.47 and the 200 in 2:07.00. Burton, a sophomore, was victorious on both the one- (269.10 points) and three-meter (259.50 points) diving boards.

It was no contest as the Bulls cruised to victory in the two-day UB Invitational. The Bulls scored 1,130 points to claim the title, nearly 300 points ahead of St. Bonaventure (867) in the team standings. Akron (500.50), Niagara (386) and Colgate (56.50) rounded out the field.

The Bulls scored wins in six events on Saturday and tacked on five more wins on Sunday. Kahla Walkinshaw led the UB efforts with a total of six wins-four individual and two relays.

A UB diving record fell on Sunday as Burton won the one-meter competition, registering a six-dive total of 275.25 points, bettering Tracy Hoover's record of 275.20 set in 2002. Hoover finished second to Burton on the board with 264.45 points. Kim LaHaye won the three-meter title on Saturday with 445.00 points.

Indoor Track and Field

Bulls set pair of records

The men's and women's indoor track-and-field teams were in action against tough competition at the Syracuse Invitational on Sunday and came away with several top marks. There was no team scoring in the meet, which included a field of 14 teams from New York and Canada.

Women's pole vaulter Laura Olson bettered her own UB record to win for the Bulls. Olson vaulted 13-0.25 (3.97m) to break her own mark by two and three-quarter inches and better her ECAC qualifying height. The height also earned Olson an NCAA provisional qualification for March's national meet in Fayetteville, Ark. Teammate Deven Fister placed second at 10-11.75 (3.35m).

UB's women also picked up a victory from Allison Laske in the 1,000 meters (2:57.99).

The 4x400 relay team scored a win in 3:58.11.

On the men's side, Todd Ludden scored a record-setting performance in the 3,000-meter run. Ludden turned in an 8:3217 showing to place fourth overall and cut Rick Stewart's 2003 record by three and a half seconds.

UB's men took a pair of field events. Gary Asbach won the long jump at 22-10.50 (6.97m) and Rayshon Higgins won the triple jump at 45-8.50 (13.93m).

UB's 4x400 relay team also was victorious in 3:23.14.

The Bulls will travel to New York City this weekend for the Armory Collegiate Championships.

Wrestling

Central Michigan 32, UB 6

UB dropped a home match against 17th-ranked Central Michigan by a 32-6 score on Saturday night. UB falls to 10-4 overall and 1-2 in MAC matches.

The only Bulls to win their respective matches were Mark McKnight at 125 pounds and Kyle Cerminara at 197 pounds.