University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: January 31, 2008

Basketball

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Ohio 68, UB 59 Toledo 76, UB 63

Despite a second-half rally, UB fell to Ohio, 68-59, in Alumni Arena on Jan. 23. The Bulls, who trailed by as many as 13 in the second half, cut the lead to one on several occasions, but couldn't get the go-ahead bucket.

Andy Robinson scored 23 points to lead all scorers. He matched a season high with four three-pointers. Calvin Betts added nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.

An energetic Bulls squad led 14-11 with 13:40 left in the first half. However, UB was outscored, 22-11, for the remainder of the first stanza and trailed, 33-25, at the break.

Ohio scored the first five points of the second half and held a 41-28 lead with 17:14 left. Sparked by a Robinson jumper, the Bulls mounted a 20-9 scoring run and a Max Boudreau leaning jumper cut the Ohio advantage to 50-48 with 9:12 left.

Betts nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to 52-51. Robinson hit a pair of free throws to again cut the deficit to one with 7:46 left. Although they had several opportunities, the Bulls couldn't score the go-ahead basket.

With Ohio leading, 61-53, Jawaan Alston scored four straight points, including a steal and breakaway layup, to cut the lead to four with 3:40 remaining. However, that would be the last field goal for the Bulls and the Bobcats pulled away for the nine-point victory.

Both teams shot the ball well from long distance, with UB going 9 for 22 from beyond the arc and Ohio 9-for-21.

On Saturday at Toledo, the Bulls rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to tie the contest, but couldn’t pull ahead and the Rockets went on for a 76-63 victory.

Sean Smiley, who was a game-time decision with an ankle injury, played valiantly and scored 21 points, including a career-best tying five three-pointers.

Betts notched his second double-double of the season with 12 points on six-of-eight shooting and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.

The first half was the Smiley and Betts show as the two players combined to score 21 of UB’s 25 first-half points. Smiley scored 11 and Betts had 10. But the Bulls still trailed, 32-25, at the break.

Toledo scored the first eight points of the second half to extend its lead to 40-25 with 16:23 on the clock. However, the Bulls battled back and over the next eight minutes managed to cut the lead to 51-50. Robinson played a big part in the comeback, scoring eight of his 14 points during the run, including back-to-back three-pointers.

Smiley connected on a pair of free throws to complete the comeback and knot the game at 55 with 5:48 left.

With the Bulls trailing by three and 4:11 on the clock, Boudreau blocked his third shot of the game that ignited a break for UB. However, Boudreau was whistled for an illegal screen near midcourt and the UB bench was called for a technical foul on the play. Toledo sank the technical free throws and was awarded the ball—extending its lead to five. The Rockets eventually pulled away for the win.

Boudreau finished with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks in 25 minutes. The sophomore forward was part of a spirited effort from the bench that scored 45 of the team’s 63 points and grabbed 23 of UB’s 39 rebounds.

The biggest discrepancy in the game was free-throw shooting. Toledo made 29 of 45 free-throw attempts, while UB shot just 15 free throws and made seven. The Bulls didn’t shoot their first free throw of the game until there was 14:44 left in the second half.

It was UB’s seventh straight loss and dropped the Bulls to 0-6 in MAC play.

WOMEN’S

UB 78, Kent State 71
Eastern Michigan 74, UB 71

UB used a balanced scoring attack and clutch free-throw shooting in the second half to defeat the Kent State Golden Flashes for the first time, 78-71, in the MAC Center. It was UB’s 10th victory of the year, tying the total from each of the previous two seasons.

The Bulls got off to a quick start, scoring the first nine points of the contest. Just under four minutes into the game, UB had already built a 10-point lead on a three-pointer from sophomore Ashley Zuber. From there, Kent State went on a 10-2 run, cutting the UB lead to two. The game was tied at 19 and Kent State took its first lead of the contest at 20-19 with 9:12 left in the opening half. That lead was short-lived as senior Stephanie Bennett hit a three to put the Bulls back ahead by two. The Bulls increased their lead to as many as nine on two separate occasions, including at the 3:42 mark of the first half on a layup by sophomore Meghan George. The Golden Flashes cut into the UB lead once more as the Bulls went into the half with a two-point advantage at 37-35. With players getting into foul trouble, 12 different UB players saw action in the first half, with 10 of them scoring.

The Bulls came out in the second half and increased their lead to six with a layup by freshman Jessica Fortman. However, Kent State used a 15-6 run to go up by three at 52-49 with 11:16 to go in the game. The Bulls then tied the game on a layup by Heather Turner, and back-to-back baskets from Bridgette Kendricks put UB back up by four. The game was tied for the fifth and final time at 58 with 6:38 left before freshman Tieara Jones put UB ahead for good with a layup. Bennett put UB up by five with a three-pointer before four straight points from Kent State’s Rachel Bennett left the UB lead at one. The Bulls regained a seven-point advantage on back-to-back three-point plays from Jones, who had her best game in a UB uniform. The Bulls ended the game hitting nine of their final 10 free throws to thwart any chance of a Kent State comeback.

Four Bulls players finished in double figures, led by the career-high 17 points from Jones that included 7-for-8 from the charity stripe. Bennett, who was making her 100th consecutive start, scored 13 points and had a season-high seven assists. Zuber had 11 points and five assists, while Fortman rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points and seven rebounds. Turner, who was in foul trouble for much of the night, had six points, two rebounds and a season-high three blocks before fouling out.

On Saturday, the Bulls made a late second-half charge, but a game-tying three-point attempt by Bennett fell just short as UB dropped a 74-71 decision to Eastern Michigan in Alumni Arena. Bennett hit a career-high seven three-pointers, but UB dropped to 10-9 on the season and evened its MAC record to 3-3.

The Bulls got off to a quick start as their post players dominated early. UB’s first 16 points were scored by either Turner or Barbora Homolová, who made the start to help combat Eastern Michigan’s size down low. Turner opened the game with a three-point play and had 10 points in the first six minutes of the game. The Bulls led for much of the first 10 minutes of the game, but four quick Alyssa Pittman points put Eastern Michigan ahead. UB tied the game up at 32-32 with 1:54 left in the half, but EMU hit back-to-back threes to take a quick six-point advantage. Bennett cut that lead in half with a three, but the Eagles hit a free throw with 25 seconds left and took a four-point lead at the half.

In the second half, Eastern Michigan increased its lead to as many as eight with 14:32 left, but the lead was immediately cut into with a Bennett three. EMU seemed to answer each UB basket with points of its own, regaining a seven-point lead at the 9:54 mark. Two straight UB baskets knocked the lead down to three. Eastern Michigan regained a five-point advantage, but another Bennett triple knocked the EMU lead down to two. Pittman then scored on a jumper for EMU to push the lead back to four, but Zuber hit her only three of the game to put UB within one at 62-61 with 7:31 left. Homolová cut the lead to two, 65-63, with a jumper and junior Dortae Freeman was fouled while the ball was in the air. Freeman hit both of her free throws to tie the game up at 65. The Eagles scored the next four points before Bennett hit her seventh three of the game, cutting the lead to one with 3:53 left. EMU hit a free throw to go up by two and UB had an chance to tie the game but was unable to get a defensive rebound off a missed free throw Pittman hit two free throws to give EMU a four-point lead. Bennett got the ball and was fouled taking a three-pointer. She knocked down all three foul shots. UB had to foul Pittman again and she hit both her free throws to give EMU a three-point lead. The Bulls got the final shot, but a Bennett triple would not fall as time expired.

Bennett led the way for UB with a career-high 25 points. Turner had 15 points and six rebounds, while Homolová had 12 points, which tied a season high, and two blocked shots.

The Bulls will hit the road for the next two games, starting tonight at Northern Illinois.

Wrestling

UB 24, Ohio 9

UB won seven matches on its way to a 24-9 Mid-American Conference dual meet win over Ohio on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Dan Bishop led the way for the Bulls, earning six team points with a pinfall victory at 125 pounds.

The meet began at 184 pounds and the Bulls jumped out to an early 15-0 lead, winning the first four matches. Mickey Moran scored a 4-1 decision victory in the opening bout of the duel, using two takedowns to take control of the match. For Moran, the victory was his 28th of the season and his 11th in a row. He came into the weekend tied for eighth in the nation in wins among all NCAA Division I wrestlers. Jimmy Hamel (Natick, MA/Natick) gave UB its second-straight win at 197 pounds, scoring a dominating 12-6 decision that included five takedowns. Jeff Parker made it 3-for-3 for UB, scoring a tight 2-1 decision in the heavyweight bout. Bishop’s pinfall victory over Heath Allen just 1:43 into the 125-pound bout made it 15-0 start for UB.

Ohio cut the UB lead to 15-6 before Pat Lloyd got the Bulls back on track with a 2-0 victory at 149 pounds. Lloyd scored a point with an escape in the second period and then rode his opponent, Kevin Christensen, for the entire third period, picking up a riding time point and scoring the 2-0 decision. For Lloyd, the second period escape was the 70th of his career, the second-best mark in school history.

Ohio's Clay Tucker earned a 4-1 decision over John Cummings in the 157-pound bout, but the Bulls won the final two matches to clinch the meet. Scott Rendos scored a 3-2 victory at 165 pounds by earning 1:03 of riding time in the third period. Mike Ragusa closed out the meet with a 7-5 decision victory over Ryan Knapp at 174 pounds, giving the Bulls the 24-9 victory.

UB will be back home on Saturday to host the fifth-ranked Central Michigan Chippewas at 1 p.m.

Swimming

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Miami (OH) 138, UB 105

UB dropped a 138-105 decision to visiting Miami (OH) on Saturday's senior day matchup in Alumni Arena Natatorium. With the loss, the Bulls now stand at 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the MAC.

UB jumped out to an early lead, taking the opening event, the 400-yard medley relay, in dramatic fashion. Anchor and freestyle specialist Zach Ruske caught Miami's final swimmer within the final 10 yards and touched the wall ahead of his opponent by two-tenths of a second. The Bulls foursome of Andrew Tamchyna, Jordan Matthews, Scott Woster and Ruske finished in a season-best 3:31.56 to the RedHawks' 3:31.76.

Ruske was also victorious in the 200-yard backstroke as the Bulls swept the top three places in the event. Ruske turned in a clocking of 1:52.19, with Tamchyna second in 1:55.56 and Richard Shi third in 1:59.70.

Other winners for the Bulls included Woster in the 200-yard butterfly in 1:55.88, Kevin Song in the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:10.44 and Michael McDowell on the one-meter diving board with 331.95 points.

The Bulls will travel to St. Bonaventure for a Wednesday matchup with the Bonnies in the regular-season finale.

WOMEN’S

UB 164, Akron 135

UB scored a 164-135 victory over MAC rival Akron on Friday in Akron’s Ocasek Natatorium. The Bulls are now 5-4 overall and 2-4 in MAC competition.

The Bulls took 10 of the 16 events to win the meet with three swimmers scoring two wins apiece.

Freshman Jordan Deren won the distance freestyle races for the Bulls. Deren set a season-best mark in winning the 200-yard freestyle in 1:56.08. She also took the 500-yard freestyle in 5:08.03.

Sophomore Ashley Schaffert also scored a pair of wins in sweeping the breaststroke events. Schaffert won the 100-yard event in 1:06.51 and also took the 200-yard race in 2:25.94.

Sophomore Andrea Lehner won two events at the 100-yard distance: the 100-yard backstroke in 57.44 and the 100-yard freestyle in 52.06.

Winning individual events for the Bulls were sophomore Meili Carpenter in the one-meter diving competition with 297.22 points and sophomore Sam Eckert in the 100-yard butterfly in 58.60.

UB also swept both relay races. The Bulls jumped out to the early lead in the meet by winning the 200-yard medley relay as the foursome of Lehner, Schaffert, Eckert and Jessie Koltz turned in a clocking of 1:48.79. The Bulls capped off the meet with a victory in the 400-yard freestyle relay with Lehner, Koltz, Meghan Lafferty and Deren finishing in 3:34.25.

UB will host MAC rival Bowling Green at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Indoor Track and Field

Bulls post top marks at Penn State National

The men's and women's indoor track-and-field teams competed at the Penn State National Invitational and came away with a record-setting performance. There is no team scoring in the meet that featured top collegiate programs from throughout the United States.

Senior Patrice Coney scored a new school record in the pentathlon, establishing herself as an NCAA provisional qualifier with her fourth-place finish. Coney’s 3,751 points came via a scorching performance in the 55-meter hurdles event in the pentathlon competition, squashing the school record in that event in 8.19. In the other events of the pentathlon, Coney also placed first in the 800-meter dash with a time of 2:20.93, second in the shot put with a personal best 11.34m and third in the long jump with a leap of 5.40m.

Senior thrower Tina Villa advanced to the finals of the shot put, placing seventh overall with an indoor personal best of 14.77m, while junior Fatimah Hill advanced to the finals of the long jump, placing seventh with a distance of 5.79m.

Also competing for the Bulls on the women’s side was junior Mary Veith, who placed an impressive fifth in the invitational 3,000-meter run with a time of 9:44.06, which is the second-fastest time in UB history.

Junior Jessica Schultz competed in the open 3,000-meter run, placing third with a personal best of 10:14.35, while sophomore Christine Sprehe ran a personal best in the 1,000-meter run, posting a time of 3:02.65.

On the men’s side, sophomore Ezekiel Porter advanced to the semifinal round of the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.91 and also was part of the men’s 4x400-meter relay team that had a season’s-best performance in the event with a time of 3:17.92. The team of Porter, sophomores John Bauman, John Connors and freshman Brandon Giles won its heat.

Additionally, senior Dan Giza ran a personal best in the invitational mile, running the second-fastest time in UB school history. Giza’s 4:11.30 placed him 14th in the competition.

The Bulls will return to action this weekend, heading back to the University Park campus in State College for the Sykes/Sabock Challenge.

Tennis

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UC-Davis 4, UB 3
Xavier 5, UB 2

UB fell to home-standing University of California-Davis, 4-3, on Jan. 21. The match was moved indoors due to the weather.

The Bulls scored a pair of wins in singles matches. At number one, Nikesh Singh Panthlia scored a 6-4, 6-2 win over Michael Reiser. UB’s other singles win came from Marcelo Mazzetto, who downed Nick Lopez, 7-5, 6-1 in the number-three match.

The Bulls scored a pair of doubles wins to take the point and close the score at 4-3. The number-one team of Kirill Kolomytes and Mazzetto defeated Daniel Elefant and Reiser, 8-4. The number-two tandem of Singh Panthlia and Octavian Stane knocked off Nic Amaroli and Nick Lopez, 8-2.

On Sunday, the Bulls dropped a 5-2 decision to Atlantic 10 member Xavier.

The match was played on neutral ground at the Cleveland Skating Club.

The Bulls (0-4) captured a pair of singles matches for their two team points. At first singles, Singh Panthlia scored a straight-sets win over Xavier’s Chris Herrlinger, 6-2, 6-4. At second singles, Mazzetto downed Xavier’s J.T. Torbeck, also in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3.

Two other singles matches went the full three sets with the Bulls dropping both. At number three, Kolomytes lost to Ra’ees Ismail, 0-6, 6-4, 6-4. Stane fell to Brian Starr, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, in the number-four match.

The Bulls won one of the three doubles matches to open the contest as the top duo of Kolomytes and Mazzetto knocked off Herrlinger and Doug Matthews, 8-4. Xavier (2-3) won the number two and three doubles matches to claim the opening point.

The Bulls will travel to Ithaca to face Cornell on Saturday.