University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: February 14, 2008

Basketball

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UB 89, Northern Illinois 81
UB 68, Eastern Michigan 64

Andy Robinson scored a career-high 35 points, including eight three-pointers, as UB broke a nine-game losing streak with an 89-81 victory at Northern Illinois on Feb. 5. The win also snapped a 19-game road losing streak for UB and a 15-game conference road losing streak.

UB struggled out of the gate, falling behind 6-0 before Robinson got the Bulls on the scoreboard with a layup 2:51 into the first half. Following a Northern Illinois dunk, the Bulls scored the next 15 points and never looked back. Robinson scored nine of those 15 on a trio of three-pointers and Max Boudreau added four during the run, on his way to a career-high 14 points.

UB led 25-16 with 8:07 remaining in the first half when an 8-0 run, again sparked by a pair of Robinson three-pointers, pushed Buffalo’s advantage to 17 points, the largest lead UB enjoyed in the first half. Northern Illinois cut the UB advantage to 11 at the half, 46-35.

The Bulls pushed their advantage to as many as 25 on two separate occasions in the second half. The first came on a pair of Byron Mulkey free throws with 7:50 remaining that gave UB a 79-54 lead. The second came on a three-pointer by Sean Smiley with 6:33 to play that gave the Bulls an 82-57 lead. Mulkey and Smiley each finished with 10 points.

Following Smiley’s three, Northern Illinois finished the game on a 24-7 run, but the UB lead was never smaller than eight points.

Calvin Betts scored 11 points to give the Bulls five double-figure scorers. Betts also led UB in rebounding for the 10th-straight game, pulling down seven boards.

On Sunday, sophomores accounted for 51 of the 68 points scored by the Bulls in a 68-64 victory over Eastern Michigan in Alumni Arena. Sophomores scored 14 of the final 16 points in the Bulls' second straight win.

Betts scored a team-high 14 points and added 12 rebounds and four assists. Mulkey added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Mulkey's jumper with 48 seconds left, broke a tie and proved to be the game winner.

UB (8-14, 2-8 MAC) led for much of the game, including a 34-26 advantage at the half. But Eastern Michigan hit 14 of its 38 three-point attempts to keep the Bulls from pulling away.

With the Bulls leading 55-48, the Eagles hit three straight three-pointers to take a 57-55 lead—their first since midway through the first half. On UB's next possession, Betts grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed free throw and his putback tied the contest at 57. After an EMU miss, Boudreau backed down his man and hit a lefty hook to put the Bulls back up by two.

A Robinson free throw gave the Bulls a five-point lead with 3:31 left. But Eastern Michigan scored five unanswered—capped by its 13th three-pointer of the game—to tie the game at 62 with 2:15 remaining.

With the game tied at 64 and 48 seconds left on the clock, Mulkey knocked down a 13-foot pull-up jumper to give the Bulls the lead for good, 66-64. After Carlos Medlock missed a three-point attempt that would have given the Eagles the lead, Mulkey secured the rebound and was fouled. His subsequent free throws made the score 68-64.

WOMEN’S

UB 60, Toledo 45

UB used strong defense to defeat the Toledo Rockets, 60-45, Saturday afternoon in Alumni Arena. The Bulls allowed Toledo to score just 14 points in the second half and the 45 points were the second fewest allowed by the Bulls in a game this season. With the win, UB improves to 12-10 on the season and 5-4 in the MAC.

The largest home crowd of the season—1,025 fans—watched UB take part in the WBCA's Think Pink Day. The Bulls wore pink headbands and wristbands to help increase breast-cancer awareness. During halftime of the game, the UB student organization True Blue donated a check for $2,000 to the Breast Cancer Network of Western New York.

The Bulls got off to an early lead in the game as back-to-back three-pointers by Stephanie Bennett and Jessica Fortman put UB up by two at the 15:31 mark. The Rockets then went on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game, 14-8, with 12:43 left in the half. Down 19-14, the Bulls went on a 10-2 run to take a three-point lead, capped off by a fast-break layup off a steal by sophomore Ashley Zuber to give UB a 24-21 lead with 7:52 left in the first half. The game was tied for the fourth and final time at 29-29 with 4:39 left, but the Bulls ended the half on a 9-2 run to go up 38-31 at the break.

The second half was all about UB’s defense—the Bulls allowed just 14 points in the half as Toledo managed to shoot just 14.8 percent from the floor during the second 20 minutes of play. UB increased its lead to 12 on a jumper by Jamie Schiebner at the 14:25 mark. A UB layup at the 11:18 mark put the Bulls back up by 12, but then both teams had a hard time finding their scoring touch as neither team hit a field goal for nearly six minutes, with just two Toledo free throws coming during that stretch. The Rockets cut the lead to eight before the Bulls scored eight straight points and had their largest lead of the game at 16 on a layup from Schiebner. The Rockets tried to cut into the lead, but there was not enough time remaining as the Bulls walked away with a 15-point victory.

Bennett and Schiebner each had 14 points in the win as UB had four players in double figures. Bennett also finished with a game-high five assists in the game, going over 400 assists for her career. Schiebner added nine rebounds, all on the defensive end. Senior Heather Turner had a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Fortman rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and seven rebounds. Zuber had four points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in the game.

Wrestling

Kent State 23, UB 9

UB was unable to spring an upset of 21st-ranked Kent State on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Golden Flashes, 23-9. John Cummings, Mike Ragusa and Jimmy Hamel each picked up victories for the Bulls in the dual meet.

Kent State won the first four matches to begin the dual, putting UB (8-6-1, 1-4 MAC) in an early hole. Nic Bedleyon opened with a 4-2 win for Kent State at 125 pounds and two nationally ranked wrestlers—number-20 Dan Mitcheff and number-18 Drew Lashaway—extended the Golden Flashes’ advantage at 133 and 141 pounds, respectively. Clint Sponseller finished the run for Kent State with an 8-2 decision win at 149 pounds.

The Bulls recorded their first win of the dual at 157 pounds when Cummings scored a victory with a 5-1 decision over Sli Bostelman. But another nationally ranked Kent State wrestler slowed the UB momentum at 165 pounds as 14th-ranked Kurt Gross scored the fifth win of the day for Kent State.

Ragusa was victorious at 174 pounds with a 6-4 decision over Chris Estep, keeping hope alive for a comeback by the Bulls.

The next two matches, 184 and 197 pounds, each went to overtime, with the Bulls and the Golden Flashes splitting the two decisions. At 184 pounds, Eric Chine scored the win for Kent State by a 7-5 score over Mickey Moran. Hamel won for UB at 197 with a 5-1 decision over Michael Blackwell. Hamel finished the MAC dual meet season with a 4-1 record.

Kent State's final nationally ranked wrestler—number-13 Jermail Porter—finished the dual with a 7-2 decision over Jeff Parker in the heavyweight bout.

UB will be on the road again next weekend, traveling to Edinboro tomorrow night for a 7:30 p.m. match with the Fighting Scots.

Swimming

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St. Bonaventure 139, UB 100

UB concluded its dual-meet season Feb. 6 with a 139-100 nonconference loss to St. Bonaventure. The Bulls finished the regular season with a 3-4 overall record.

The Bulls scored victories in five of the meet’s 13 events, with sophomores Connor Vander Zalm and Michael McDowell each earning a pair of wins.

Vander Zalm swept the distance freestyle races, opening with a victory in the 1,000-yard freestyle in 9:55.15, followed by a win in the 500-yard freestyle race in 4:55.35.

McDowell swept both diving competitions, taking the three-meter springboard with a six-dive total of 364.85 points and the one-meter event with a total of 286.87 points.

Sophomore Andrew Tamchyna was UB’s other victor, claiming first place in the 200-yard backstroke in 1:55.36.

The Bulls will begin the postseason with the combined Mid-American and Sun Belt Conference championships starting Feb. 27 in Nashville.

WOMEN’S

St. Bonaventure 125, UB 112

UB fell to St. Bonaventure, 125-112, in nonconference action on Feb. 6 to conclude the regular season for both teams. With the loss, the Bulls ended the regular season with a 6-5 record.

The Bulls scored wins in six of the meet’s 13 events in a contest that stayed close throughout the evening.

Freshman Jesse Koltz won the sprint freestyle events for the Bulls. Koltz won the 50-yard race in 24.61, and later completed the sweep with a win in the 100-yard freestyle in 53.53.

Sophomore Meili Carpenter swept the diving events for the Bulls. Carpenter won the one-meter competition with a total score of 277.80 points for six dives and took the three-meter event with 286.81 points.

Sophomore Jessica Ballard won the 200-yard individual medley in 2:11.98. Freshman Jordan Deren won the 500-yard freestyle in 5:13.09.

With the regular season complete, the Bulls now will concentrate on the postseason. The Bulls host the four-day MAC Championships starting Wednesday in Alumni Arena Natatorium.

Indoor Track and Field

Bulls produce top marks at New Balance meet

Competing against a handful of the nation’s top-ranked programs, UB recorded outstanding results at the New Balance Collegiate Meet, held Friday and Saturday in New York City.

The Bulls were led by junior Fatimah Hill, who won the college division of the women’s long jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 6.18m. Hill’s distance also set a school record and a personal best, breaking the record she set in 2007 of 5.89m.

Other strong performances in field events were turned in by Tina Villa, Tiffany Maskulinski and Lataya Dixon.

Villa placed third overall in the women’s shot put in the championship division with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and personal-best distance of 15.52m. Maskulinski finished sixth in the championship division of the pole vault, matching her season-best height of 3.95m, while Dixon won the college division of the high jump with a season-best mark of 1.70m.

On the track, UB women turned in impressive times. Christine Sprehe ran a personal best in the 1000-meter championship division run, placing 12th in a field of 34 women. Jessica Schultz and Nicole Soblosky both raced well in the 5000-meter run—Schultz finished in 18:01.10, while Soblosky crossed the finish in 18:11.05.

On the men’s side, Ezekiel Porter continued his outstanding 2008 indoor season, placing 16th out of more than 100 men in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.69. Dan Schitchel had a great meet for the Bulls, winning his heat in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.94 to place 33rd out of 98 competitors.

Also on the track, the men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Porter, John Bauman, John Connors and Brandon Giles won the New York state championship, turning in a time of 3:19.35 to edge out SUNY rival Binghamton, among other schools from around the state.

In the field events, the Bulls’ men were strong as Peter Bligh tied for seventh in a field of 23 competitors in the high jump with a height of 2.04m, while Alex Stamatakis threw a personal-best distance of 17.81m in the weight throw, which placed him 13th out of 31 competitors.

The Bulls next will compete Feb. 22 at the Akron Open, which will serve as the final meet prior to the MAC Championships, slated for Feb. 28-March 1 in Ypsilanti, Mich.

Tennis

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UB 6, Niagara 1
St. Bonaventure 4, UB 3

After spotting visiting Niagara University the opening doubles point, UB won all six singles matches to defeat the Purple Eagles, 6-1, at the Village Glen Tennis Center on Friday.

Five of the six singles matches went three sets, with the Bulls winning the opening set in each match before the Purple Eagles rallied to tie the matches.

With UB trailing 1-0 after doubles play, junior Octavian Stane got the Bulls on the scoreboard with his straight-sets win over Marc Dickinson, 6-3, 6-1, at fourth singles.

From there, the Bulls found the going tougher. Kirill Kolomytes defeated Roman Silin, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, in the number-three match to give UB a 2-1 lead. Nikesh Singh Panthlia followed at number two with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 decision over Alex Abji for the 3-1 edge.

The Bulls picked up the fourth and clinching point in dramatic fashion. Freshman Marcelo Mazzetto, who moved up to the number-one spot for the first time this season, defeat Walter Garcia, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, to give UB the team victory.

UB finished off the sweep with wins at number five (Alexis Lluis) and six (Juan Carlos Wynter).

On Sunday, the Bulls picked up singles victories from their top three players but were unable to claim the fourth point and fell to regional rival St. Bonaventure, 4-3, at the Village Glen Tennis Center.

Mazzetto improved to 2-0 at the number-one spot with a 6-0, 7-5 victory over Leo Mochizuki. At number two, Singh Panthlia scored a 6-2, 6-4 win against Victor Lecina. In the number-three match, Kolomytes defeated Jonathan Luce, 6-3, 6-2.

The Bulls will travel to Colgate for a match on Saturday.

WOMEN’S

UB 6, Syracuse 1

UB defeated visiting Syracuse University, 6-1, on Saturday afternoon at the Village Glen Tennis Center. The Bulls took the early doubles point and cruised through the singles matches. With the win, UB improves to 2-0 on the year in its dual matches.

The Bulls won all three doubles matches as the number-one team of Denise Harijanto and Diana Popescu defeated Christina Tan and Simone Kalhorn, 8-1. Smaranda Stan and Diana Toia took the second doubles match, 8-3, over Maria Vasilyeva and Chelsea Jones, while the senior duo of Andreea Novaceanu and Tina Jacob defeated Ashley Spicer and Jacquelynn Tang, 8-6, in the number-three match.

In singles play, the Bulls won six of their seven matches, with Novaceanu, Popescu and Toia all picking up straight-set victories. Stan and Jacob also won their matches, both taking three-set thrillers.

The Bulls will travel to Princeton this weekend for their first road dual match of the year.