University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 12, 2006

Basketball

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UB 78, Eastern Michigan 62
Northern Illinois 84, UB 82 (OT)

A barrage of first-half three-pointers helped UB down Eastern Michigan, 78-62, in its Mid-American Conference opener in Alumni Arena on Jan. 4. The Bulls shot 8-for-11 from beyond the arc in the first half to cruise to their ninth straight victory—their longest winning streak since the 1964-65 season.

UB was led by Calvin Cage, who scored a game-high 20 points, including four three pointers. Roderick Middleton notched 17 points and tied a career-best with five treys to go along with six assists and three steals. Yassin Idbihi also reached double-figures with 17 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds.

After UB pulled out to an 11-2 lead to start the game, Eastern Michigan fought back and tied the contest, 17-17, with 8:29 remaining in the first half. However, a three-pointer by Andy Robinson opened the scoring floodgates for the Bulls. Over the final eight minutes of the first stanza, Cage and Middleton each hit three three-pointers to help UB close the half on a 32-8 scoring run and take a 49-25 lead into the locker room at the break.

A jumper by Parnell Smith with 18:03 remaining, gave the Bulls a 28-point lead—their largest of the game. The Eagles didn't go away quietly, shooting 59.1 percent from the field in the second half to pull to within 67-51 with 4:49 left in the game. However, on the Bulls' next possession, Idbihi scored a conventional three-point play to extend the UB lead to 19 points and silence the EMU threat.

UB shot 55.8 percent from the floor in the game, including a sizzling 65.5 percent in the first half. The Bulls were equally effective from beyond the arc, finishing the night shooting 10-for-18 from long range.

UB had its nine-game winning streak snapped by Northern Illinois, falling to the Huskies in overtime, 84-82, at the Convocation Center on Saturday.

UB (11-2, 1-1 MAC) was led by Cage, who had a career-high 26 points, including a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.

The Bulls jumped out to a 22-12 lead before the Huskies rattled off 15 straight points to take a 27-22 advantage. Five points was the largest margin either team held the rest of the way. The game was tied, 40-40, at halftime.

The second half was a see-saw battle, with each team taking brief leads. With the game tied at 70, Mario Jordan grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled. His free throw gave the Bulls a 73-70 lead with 1:35 remaining. A pair of Corey Sims free throws cut the UB advantage to 73-72 on the Huskies' next possession. Idbihi hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Bulls a two-point edge with 34 seconds left. But Sims struck again with 12 seconds remaining, hitting a shot in the lane to tie the contest and force overtime.

Northern Illinois grabbed a five-point advantage with 2:05 left in the extra session. Cage answered with a layup and following a Northern Illinois free throw, Greg Gamble hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 84-82 with 16 seconds left. Following a Huskie turnover, the Bulls had one last chance, but a three-point attempt by Eric Moore was partially blocked, allowing the Huskies to pull out the victory.

In addition to Cage, Idbihi and Jordan reached double-figures in the scoring column, adding 16 and 11 points, respectively. Jordan led UB with seven rebounds.

UB had a season-low nine turnovers, but shot a season-worst 35.4 percent (23-for-65) from the field. UB shot 30-for-36 from the free-throw line. The 30 made free throws were the ninth highest single game total in school history.

Earlier in the week, former UB point guard Turner Battle signed a contract with the Fort Worth Flyers of the National Basketball Association Development League (NBDL). The 2005 MAC Player of the Year made his debut on Friday night, playing 23 minutes and pulling down three rebounds against Albuquerque.

Battle began the season playing professionally overseas for a first division team in France.

The NBDL is an eight-team league that serves as a source of on-court talent for the NBA's 30 teams.

WOMEN'S

UB 78, Miami (OH) 75

Freshman Jamie Schiebner sank three late free throws to give UB a 78-75 victory over the host Miami (OH) RedHawks on Saturday. It was the first conference-opening victory for the Bulls since the 2000-01 season, when they also defeated Miami on the road.

The Bulls (6-6, 1-0 MAC) had four players in double figures, including 16 from freshman Rachelle Matthys and 15 from Stephanie Bennett, who also recorded a game-high seven assists. Schiebner and Heather Turner rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 and 12 points, respectively.

The Bulls got off to an early lead and held their biggest advantage at nine points at the 8:16 mark of the first half. The two teams then took turns holding the lead, which changed 13 times.

Foul trouble limited Turner to 17 minutes of action, but junior Viorica Badinici and sophomore Barbora Homolova combined for 26 minutes and recorded seven and six points, respectively,

Senior Brooke Meunier was limited to 22 minutes with a hamstring injury, but sophomore Flynn Pyykkonen scored a season-high nine points, including five in a row, to take the Bulls from a one-point deficit to a three-point advantage during the final 2:16 of play.

Wrestling

Northern Illinois 23, UB 21

Unfortunately for UB, senior Kyle Cerminara did not get his record-breaking pin until after the meet with 22nd-ranked Northern Illinois already had been decided in the Huskies' favor, as the MAC foe snuck away from the Convocation Center with a 23-21 win in the conference opener Friday night.

Cerminara pinned Dave Herrera in the meet's final match at 197 pounds to close the gap to two points, as the senior set the school-record for consecutive wins, breaking John Stutzman's mark of 24 consecutive wins, set in 1996-97. Cerminara has started the season 25-0, winning the Slippery Rock Open, Oklahoma Gold Classic, Mat Town USA Invitational, Las Vegas Invitational and UB Open along the way to breaking the school's career record for wins and dual meet takedowns, which was also held by Stutzman.

This is the second year in a row UB (5-2 overall, 0-1 MAC) has lost to Northern Illinois (4-2 overall, 1-0 MAC) in a manner where the outcome of one match could have led to a UB win. The Bulls also dropped a heartbreaking, 20-15 decision on Jan. 8, 2005, after going into the final match down just one point at 16-15.

The Bulls started off the match with the biggest upset of the meet as senior Harold Sherrell put himself back on the national scene with his 23rd win of the year against the NWCA/InterMat/NWMA's 19th-ranked Joe Sapp. Sherrell fell behind 2-1 in the first period, but quickly turned the match around with five three-point near falls to take a 17-2 technical fall and give the Bulls a 5-0 lead.

After a Huskies' pin at 125 pounds, junior Mark Budd posted a 17-7 major decision against Andy Hiatt, whose brother, Sam, beat Budd twice last season-once in the fateful match that decided the dual meet and once in the true second-place match at the MAC Championships, which earned Sam Hiatt an NCAA bid. Budd's win put UB up 9-6, but Northern Illinois' nationally ranked mid-weight duo of Josh Wooten and Mike Grimes each came through with major decisions to give NIU a 14-9 lead.

Junior John Cummings earned his fifth straight NCAA win with a 5-1 decision against Aaron Owen at 157 pounds, closing the gap to 14-12.

The match that turned the tide in favor of the Huskies turned out to be at 165 pounds, as 2005 NCAA qualifier Johnny Galloway earned an escape in the second sudden-victory overtime to clinch the win against W.I.N. Magazine's 18th-ranked Mickey Moran. In the next match, Danny Burk offered up a meet-clinching pin in the second period to give the Huskies a 23-12 lead, meaning UB needed pins in the final two matches to provide the upset.

The Bulls almost pulled off the feat, too, as senior Garrett Hicks fell behind Nick McClone, 6-4, at the end of the second period, but turned the match around by earning a reversal and then almost pinning McClone in a three-point near fall to take the 10-6 win before Cerminara pinned Dave Herrera in 1:13 in the meet's finale.

UB will return to the mats on Sunday with a 1 p.m. dual meet against Southern Conference power North Carolina-Greensboro (5-0 overall).