University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: February 19, 2004

Basketball

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Kent State 79, UB 75
UB 75, Central Michigan 66

UB dropped a hard-fought 79-75 decision to Kent State in the Memorial Athletic Center on Feb. 11. The Bulls, who have not fared well at Kent State in recent years, put a scare into the Golden Flashes, the top team in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.

Mario Jordan led the Bulls with 21 points-one point shy of his career high. Mark Bortz notched his fourth double-double in the last six games with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Trailing by nine points early in the second half, the Bulls battled back and sliced the lead to 48-47 following a three-pointer by Jason Bird. However, Kent State scored seven unanswered points to quickly regain an eight-point edge. Trailing, 65-61, Calvin Cage nailed a trey that cut the Kent State advantage to one point. DeAndre Haynes answered with a triple of his own to extend the Golden Flashes' lead to 68-64. On the ensuing possession, the Bulls ran a back-door play that resulted in a dunk by Jordan that cut the lead to two points. On the next Kent State possession, Daniel Gilbert intercepted a pass, dribbled the length of the floor and threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk to tie the game, 68-68, with 4:17 left in the game. However, a veteran Kent State squad scored six unanswered points and forced the Bulls to turn the ball over down the stretch to hold on for the four-point victory.

Buffalo dominated Kent State on the glass, outrebounding the Golden Flashes, 38-20. The Bulls raked in 17 offensive boards and scored 16 second-chance points compared to only four by Kent State.

The Bulls struggled to stop Kent State's seven-foot center, John Edwards, who scored 24 points and had six blocked shots.

UB rebounded from a sluggish start to top Central Michigan, 75-66, in Alumni Arena on Saturday afternoon.

After scoring 30 points on 36.7 percent shooting in the first half, the Bulls bounced back to shoot 57.7 percent in the second half. Gilbert tallied a career-high 17 points to pace the Bulls. Roderick Middleton knocked down a career-best five three-pointers en route to a season-high 15 points.

UB (10-11, 6-7) jumped out to a 12-6 lead. At that point, Bulls' shooters suffered through a cold spell, allowing the Chippewas to go on a 13-2 run and take a 19-14 lead. A three-pointer by Jordan at the 10:14 mark, cut the lead to 19-17. However, they were the last points scored by either team for nearly four and a half minutes. Turner Battle knocked down a jumper to end the drought and tie the contest, 19-19. The Bulls closed the half on an 11-4 run to hold a 30-23 halftime advantage.

A triple by Gilbert and a deuce by Battle opened the second-half scoring to extend the UB lead to 12 points. One of Middleton's four second-half three-pointers increased the lead to 61-47 with 7:31 left in the game. Central Michigan fought back and a pair of free throws by Sefton Barrett cut the UB lead to, 69-64, with 1:39 remaining. However, a layup by Gilbert and a pair of free throws from both Cage and Battle quickly extended the Bulls' lead to 11 points, sealing the victory for UB.

The Bulls outrebounded the Chippewas, 36-25, and shot 16-for-22 from the free throw line, compared to just 5-for-6 for Central Michigan.

It was the 10th win of the season for the Bulls, marking only the second time since joining the MAC in 1998 that the Bulls have reached double-digits in the win column.

The Bulls were to play Eastern Michigan last night and will travel to Indiana State on Saturday. The non-conference game against the Sycamores is part of ESPN's Bracket Buster Saturday.

WOMEN'S

Kent State 85, UB 66
Akron 71, UB 59

UB cut its 11-point halftime deficit to three points early in the second half, but the visiting Kent State Golden Flashes then went on a 17-6 run in a span of three minutes and 43 seconds to blow the game open en route to a 19-point victory, 85-66, in front of 851 fans in Alumni Arena on Feb. 11. The Bulls shot the ball better than the Golden Flashes, 51.2 percent to 45.2 percent, but Kent State hit timely threes and took advantage of costly Bulls' turnovers to earn the win.

Kent State jumped out to an early eight-point lead, 12-4, with 15:59 on the clock, but the Bulls battled to tie the score at 14-14 on two free throws by junior Allison Bennett with 12:44 remaining in the first half. The Golden Flashes then embarked on a 7-0 run and led by as many as 15 points before taking an 11-point lead into the locker room at halftime, 37-26.

Back-to-back three-pointers by junior Talia Merlino ended a 15-7 UB run to open the second half and get the Bulls within three, 44-41, with 14:06 remaining in the game. The Golden Flashes hit three three-pointers in the next three minutes, the final one by Heather Harris increasing their lead to double digits, 59-47, and giving them control of the game. Kent State led by as many as 25 points down the stretch.

A strong shooting performance by the Akron Zips and a slow first half start by the Bulls ended in a 71-59 Akron win Saturday in front of 1,014 fans in Alumni Arena. The Zips shot 54.5 percent from the floor (24-for-44) compared to the Bulls' 38.6 percent (22-for-57), and they withstood a 16-2 Bulls' run late in the second half to hold on for their second straight MAC victory of the season. With the loss, UB's record drops to 5-16 overall and 3-8 in the MAC.

A three-pointer by freshman Kelly Calderone at the 10:12 mark of the first half gave the Bulls what would be their final lead of the game, 15-14, before Akron embarked on a 10-0 run to go ahead 24-15 en route to a 33-19 halftime lead. The Zips shot 54.5 percent from the floor in the half (12-for-22) while the Bulls shot just 28.6 percent (8-for-28).

The Zips' offense did not quiet down in the second half as they hit three three-pointers in the first four minutes and 30 seconds of the half. Another three, by Jessie Crooks at the 9:40 mark, gave Akron its biggest lead of the game at 25 points, 58-33. A three-pointer by Atanas then started a 16-2 UB run that would get the Bulls within 11, 60-49, with 5:08 on the clock, but that was as close as Akron would allow.

UB was to completes a three-game homestand with a contest last night against Eastern Michigan. A rematch at Akron is slated for Saturday.

Swimming

WOMEN'S

UB 183, Cornell 117

UB rolled to a 183-117 non-conference victory over Cornell University on Saturday in the regular-season finale for the Bulls. The Bulls are now 8-4 overall and the victory gave UB head coach Dorsi Raynolds her 64th dual meet win, passing Emily Ward (1983-92) for the most in school history.

UB won 10 of the 16 events. Junior Jennefer Brankovsky and freshman Frances Stephenson each scored a pair of first-place individual finishes, as well as a relay victory.

The Bulls will head into the postseason following a two-week layoff. The MAC Championships will begin on Feb. 26 in Oxford, Ohio.

Indoor Track and Field

Women third, men fifth at Armory Invitational

UB competed at the Fourth Annual New Balance Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York City on Friday and Saturday. The event, featuring top track-and-field teams from throughout the country, was broken down into Championship and University divisions. UB competed in the University Division, with the women's team finishing third at 45.50 points and the men's team placing fifth at 32.50 points. Essex County College (96) and St. Augustine's College (74.50) won the women's and men's team titles, respectively.

UB picked up a pair of women's victories at the meet. Laura Olson improved on her school record to win the pole vault with a height of 13-4.25 (4.07m). The height was four inches better than her previous record, set last weekend, and improved her NCAA provisional qualifying standard, which she also attained a week ago. Deven Fister tied for fifth with a height of 10-10 (3.30m).

Joining Olson on the winner's podium was middle distance runner Allison Laske, who won the 800-meter run in a near-record time. She finished the race in 2:09.41, just nine-hundredths of a second off Udo Okeke's 2000 mark of 2:09.32. Laske also lowered her ECAC qualifying mark by nearly two seconds.

Jennefer Jezorski placed second in the mile run in 4:58.85 to qualify for March's ECAC Championships and knock seven seconds off her previous season-best. Jenny Koeppel finished sixth in the 3,000-meter run in an ECAC qualifying time of 9:56.38, and the 4x400-meter relay squad took fifth in 3:50.35, another ECAC qualifying mark.

For the men, Roy Richards improved his long jump record with a leap of 24-5.50 (7.45m) to place third overall. Dan McKenna broke UB's men's mile record for the second time this season, placing third in the event in 4:12.50. The time cut his own record of 4:14.28 set at the Penn State National Open and secured the freshman an IC4A Championships spot.

Rayshon Higgins also secured an IC4A spot with his performance in the triple jump. Higgins went 48-1.25 (14.66m) and placed fourth overall. In addition, the Bulls' 4x400-meter relay team picked up an IC4A spot with a sixth-place finish in 3:18.51.

UB will travel to Ohio for next week's Kent State Open to complete the regular season.

Wrestling

UB 33, Slippery Rock 9

UB compiled a 33-9 victory at Slippery Rock on Feb. 9. Eight Bulls were victorious, helping to move UB to 11-4 on the season.

UB heavyweight Greg Thomas won by fall, while freshman 125-pounder Mark McKnight won his match by technical fall. Earlier in the day, McKnight was named the MAC Wrestler of the Week for the second time this season.

At 184 pounds, UB sophomore Harold Sherrell also won by technical fall. Two Bulls' juniors—Cliff Smith at 133 pounds and Kyle Cerminara at 197 pounds—posted wins by major decision.

UB's other winners by standard decisions included sophomore Mike Sebaaly at 141 pounds, freshman Patrick Lloyd at 149 pounds and senior Ed Pawlak at 174 pounds.

The Bulls have only one more day of action in their regular season, hosting MAC foes Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan in a tri-meet on Sunday in Alumni Arena.

Softball

Virginia Tech 5, UB 0 (Georgia tournament)
UB 6, Appalachian State 5 (Georgia tournament)

UB's 2004 softball season got under way Friday in Athens, Ga., with the Bulls participating in the Georgia Invitational. In their first two games of the tournament, the Bulls dropped a 5-0 decision to Virginia Tech before earning a come-from-behind, 6-5 win over Appalachian State in the bottom of the seventh inning on a two-out single by junior Ann Magur.

The Bulls got out to a 2-0 lead early against Appalachian State, with senior Breanne Nasti hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning and freshman Sophie Barstad hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the second. ASU used a five-run fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run single by Amber Handy, to seemingly take control of the game, but the Bulls came back with two runs in the sixth and two runs in the seventh to earn the win. Magur and Nasti had back-to-back doubles in the sixth inning to score the Bulls' third run of the game, and a two-out single by Barstad then drove in Nasti to cut ASU's lead to one, 5-4.

Freshman Shannon Prochaska led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a single and advanced to second when freshman Mary Russell reached on an error with one out. A groundout by freshman Ashley Dimeo moved both runners over, and Prochaska then scored on a passed ball to tie the game. Magur's single drove in Russell with the game-winning run.

Barstad earned the win on the mound for the Bulls, striking out 11 batters and allowing just two earned runs in seven innings in her first collegiate appearance. She also finished 2-for-3 from the plate with a home run, two RBIs and one run scored. Nasti was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored, and Magur was 2-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored.

In the first game of the tournament, Virginia Tech earned a 5-0 shutout of the Bulls in the season opener for both teams thanks to the hitting of Megan Evans and the pitching of Karie Morrison. Evans hit a one-out RBI-single in the bottom of the first inning to open the scoring and later began a four-run sixth inning for the Hokies with a leadoff home run. Caitlin Murphy drove in two runs and Kelly Brown drove in one with RBI-singles in the inning. Morrison allowed just three hits in the game, two by Buffalo senior Dominique Jones. For the Bulls, junior Stacey Evans pitched the complete game, allowing five hits, four earned runs and striking out seven.

The remainder of the tournament was cancelled due to rain.

Tennis

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Manhattan 4, UB 3 (Bonnie Duals)
UB 4, Binghamton 3 (Bonnie Duals)
St. Bonaventure 4, UB 3 (Bonnie Duals)

UB went 1-2 against three of the top teams in their conferences at the Bonnie Duals held at St. Bonaventure University over the weekend.

In Saturday's opening match, the Bulls dropped a 4-3 decision to Manhattan, picked to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season. UB then played two matches on Sunday, downing 2003 America East champion Binghamton, 4-3, in a match that lasted more than four hours. The Bulls immediately returned to the court to face the host Bonnies, the defending Atlantic-10 champions, falling 4-3.

Junior Nick Zieziula led the way for the Bulls in the three matches. Zieziula, playing second singles, was 3-0 against his opponents. Zieziula also teamed with junior Randy Rocchio to form UB's top doubles duo. The pair went 2-1, with wins over Manhattan and Binghamton before falling to Nikhil Murali and Alejandro Nery of St. Bonaventure, 8-5.

Two other Bulls, freshmen Mike Rockman and Yules Hadisubroto at numbers three and six, respectively, also posted perfect 3-0 records in singles play.

WOMEN'S

Duquesne 4, UB 3

UB opened the spring portion of its tennis schedule with a tough, 4-3 loss at Duquesne on Sunday. The Bulls are now 4-2 in dual meet competition.

The Bulls picked up singles victories from their top players. First singles player Miglena Nenova rolled past Katie Riedinger, 6-0, 6-1, while second singles player Kristen Ortman defeated Alina Klinova, 6-2, 6-2. The duo also combined for UB's lone double win, at number one, downing Riedinger and Jackie Hughes, 8-6.

Erica Zielinski also scored a singles victory for UB, defeating Ciara McDermott at number six.