University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 19, 2006

Basketball

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Toledo 73, UB 70
UB 73, Western Michigan 62

Despite scoring 54 second-half points, UB couldn't overcome an abysmal first half that resulted in 16 points and fell to Toledo, 73-70, on Jan. 10 in Savage Hall. The Bulls, who trailed by as many as 22 points in the second half, managed to cut the lead to three points late in the contest before dropping their second straight game.

UB was led by Roderick Middleton, who tied his career-high with 22 points. Calvin Cage added 18 points. The duo combined for seven three-pointers.

The Bulls struggled to get anything going in the first half-chalking up more turnovers (17) than points. A 16-0 run early in the game gave Toledo a 27-6 lead and set the tone for the first half. The Bulls shot 23.5 percent (4-for-17) in the first half and trailed, 33-16, at the break.

Toledo extended its lead to 22 points (46-24) with 15:29 remaining in the game. The Bulls slowly chipped away, but still trailed, 57-42, with 6:30 left. A Middleton three-pointer capped a 10-3 scoring run and cut the lead to eight points with 3:39 left in the game.

The Rockets held a 68-58 lead with 32 seconds remaining before the Bulls made one last frantic run. Over the next 14 seconds, Cage drained two three-pointers and a free throw to cut the lead to 68-65 with 18 seconds remaining. However, that was as close as the Bulls got as the Rockets made their free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

On Saturday, the Bulls used some unlikely sources to snap a two-game skid and defeat Western Michigan, 73-62, in Alumni Arena. Andrew Atman, a sophomore forward making his first career start and playing in only the seventh game of his career, sparked the Bulls with nine points, two rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal in only 11 minutes.

UB (12-3, 2-2 MAC) got off to a sluggish start and fell behind, 23-13, with 9:36 left in the first half. However, UB woke up over the latter stages of the opening stanza and with the help of five three-pointers, closed the half on a 17-2 scoring run to take a 30-25 lead at the break.

Western Michigan opened the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 32-31 lead with 17:44 remaining. With the score tied at 37, a lay-up by Andy Robinson gave the Bulls the lead for good with 14:47 left. Robinson contributed at both ends of the floor for the Bulls. With UB ahead 43-39, Robinson came up with a steal and went in for a layup to give the Bulls a six-point lead. Later, Robinson blocked a layup attempt by Derek Fracalossi that led to a Middleton three-pointer to give the Bulls a 48-39 lead with 11:43 remaining. Robinson finished the night with four points, five rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals in a career-high 27 minutes.

The Broncos didn't go away quietly and cut the lead to 48-47 with 9:27 remaining. But with 10 points by Yassin Idbihi and nine points by Cage, the duo combined to score 19 of the Bulls' final 25 points to hold off the Broncos.

Idbihi and Cage shared team-high scoring honors with 17 points apiece. Middleton and Mario Jordan also reached double-figures in the scoring column with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

WOMEN'S

Bowling Green 75, UB 48
Ohio 72, UB 62

The visiting Bowling Green Falcons used a 15-2 run in the first half en route to a 75-48 victory over UB on Jan. 10 in Alumni Arena. The Bulls turned the ball over 26 times in the contest, a season high.

The Bulls got off to a good start and led for the majority of the first 10 minutes of play, but the reigning MAC champions took advantage of their experience and their size as they had four double-digit scorers.

Sophomore Heather Turner (West Seneca, NY/Mount Mercy Academy) led the way for with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Turner, who continues to lead the league in field-goal percentage, also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for UB.

Joining Turner in double digits was fellow sophomore Stephanie Bennett, who scored 10 points while pulling down five boards and recording a game-high five assists.

The Falcons were able to take advantage of the turnovers as BGSU scored 29 points off turnovers, compared to five for UB.

On Saturday, the Bulls were unable to come back from a 17-point halftime deficit and dropped their second consecutive game, 72-62, to Ohio in Alumni Arena.

The Bulls (6-8, 1-2 MAC) put together their third-largest scoring half with a 45-point performance in the second half, but it wasn't enough as they went in to the locker room trailing 34-17.

UB was led by Bennett and Turner, who scored 16 and 14 points, respectively. Turner also recorded a team-high 11 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. With her layup at the 13:25 mark of the second half, Turner scored the 500th point of her young career.

With the visiting Bobcats clinging to a 16-13 lead at the 5:05 mark of the first half, Ohio went on an 18-4 run to end the half. The Bulls started to show fight in the second half and a jumper by Turner at the 16:16 mark started a 15-2 UB run. UB cut the Bobcat lead to as little as seven, but clutch shooting from the field and the line kept Ohio's lead.

Wrestling

UNC-Greensboro 22, UB 20

For the second straight match, senior Harold Sherrell posted an upset win over a nationally ranked competitor, but for the second straight meet, UB lost a narrow decision, this time falling to Southern Conference power University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 22-20, in front of 400 fans on Sunday in Alumni Arena.

The upperweight upperclassmen played a pivotal role in the meet for the Bulls (5-3 overall), as the senior trio of Garrett Hicks (184 pounds), Kyle Cerminara (197 pounds) and Sherrell (heavyweight) posted 13 team points after the team had fallen behind 22-7.

Other UB winners were junior Mark Budd (133 pounds) and junior John Cummings (157 pounds).

The Bulls will travel tomorrow to SUNY Oswego for the two-day New York State Collegiate Championships.

Swimming

UB 141, Canisius 63

UB swept all 13 events to post a 141-63 victory over Canisius in the Koessler Center on Jan. 12.

Four Bulls each won two individual events to lead the charge.

Luke Adams set a lifetime-best with his victory in the 1,000-yard freestyle, turning in a time of 9:39.17 and slicing eight seconds off his previous best mark. Adams won the event by more than two minutes over Canisius' Jon Sinski, the only other entrant in the race. Adams also posted a victory in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.40.

Mike Gerlach swept the 200- and 100-yard freestyles. Gerlach opened the meet with a 1:46.81 showing in the 200-yard distance and later took the 100-yard race in 49.76.

Jeff Hurst rolled to a pair of wins in two different disciplines, demonstrating his versatility as a valuable member of coach Budd Termin's squad. Hurst took the meet's sprint race, the 50-yard freestyle in 21.93 and then returned for a victory in a distance event, taking the 200-yard butterfly in 1:57.28.

Freshman diver Cassidy Lynch took both the one-meter and three-meter competitions.

Indoor Track and Field

Teams open season at Black Squirrel Classic

The men's and women's indoor track-and-field teams opened the season Saturday at the Black Squirrel Classic hosted by Kent State University. The UB men placed third among six teams with 104.50 points, while the women finished fifth in a seven-team field with 48 points.

The UB men posted three first-place finishes, with all three athletes attaining IC4A qualifying marks. Rayshon Higgins won the triple jump with a leap of 47-8 (14.53m). Dan McKenna took the 1,000-meter run in 2:28.2 and Bryan Weinstein won the 200-meter dash in 22.07. Weinstein also finished fourth in the 60-meters in 7.10.

Also earning IC4A qualifying marks were Roy Richards in the long jump, Rob McRae in the 400 meters, shot putters George Fetchko and Mike Giordano, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Chris McClure, Weinstein, Paul Riley and Brian Heim.

For the UB women, Jen Jezorski broke the school record with her victory in the 1,000-meters. Jezorski turned in a 2:52.06 clocking to break Christina Keck's 2001 mark of 2:54.87. Mary Veith was second in 2:52.44, also bettering Keck's old record. Kate Kohout finished third in 2:56.68. All three runners attained ECAC qualifying standards in the event.

Caitlin Godin tied for second in the high jump, clearing 5-4.25 (1.63m). Tina Villa attained an ECAC qualifying distance in the women's shot put. Villa finished third with a toss of 44-10.75 (13.68m).

Both squads will be back in action on Saturday at the Cornell Upstate Challenge in Ithaca.