Recapping events from Monday, February 24 - Sunday, March 2, 2003

MEN'S BASKETBALL (19-8) - Bengals Capture 17th SUNYAC Title; Earn NCAA Berth

Buffalo State got hot at the right time this past week, after losing three-straight to enter the playoffs, and won its 17th State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) title with tournament wins over Fredonia, Oswego and New Paltz.

On Tuesday, third-seeded Buffalo State eliminated sixth-seeded Fredonia from postseason play with an 81-64 victory in the first round at the Sports Arena. The Bengals never trailed after the games opening minutes as they returned to form for the 17-point win. Jeremy Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East) led the Bengals with 21 points. Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) tallied 18 points, and Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca) added 15 points despite spending much of the game on the bench in foul trouble. Anthony Piccolo (Depew/Depew) chipped in eight points and 10 rebounds.

Buffalo State held on for a 67-62 victory over second-seeded Oswego in Friday's semifinal at the Utica Memorial Auditorium to advance to the SUNYAC Championship game for the first time since 1997. After being deadlocked at 37-37 at halftime, Buffalo State opened the second stanza with a 13-4 run to mount an 11-point lead. Oswego battled back, however, and knotted the scored at 60-60 with 5:46 remaining. The Bengals retook the lead for good at the 3:48 mark and held on for the five-point victory. Becker and Davis were dominant for the Bengals again. Becker led all scorers with 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Davis recorded a career-high 21 rebounds and scored 14 points. Jeremy Konst added 10 points for Buffalo State.

Buffalo State?s sprinted past eighth-seeded New Paltz, 73-40, on Saturday in the championship game at the Utica Memorial Auditorium to win its 17th SUNYAC Championship and first since 1997. Buffalo State never trailed as it blazed to a 39-19 halftime lead, and never looked back. Becker led the Bengals offense again with 18 points. Davis scored 10 points and added 18 rebounds, giving him a tournament record 46 boards for the three-game tournament. Jeremy Konst added 11 points and five assists, and Piccolo chipped in 10 points.

Becker was named the tournament?s Most Valuable Player, and Perry Davis and Jeremy Konst were both selected to the All-Tournament Team.

Who?s Next?

Buffalo State will open up first round play in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament on Thursday when it travels to Scranton. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. The winner of Thursday's game will host Ursinus on Saturday.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (18-9) Bengals Run Ends in Semifinals

Buffalo State's title defense fell short as its season came to an end in the SUNYAC semifinals at the hands of eventual champion Brockport.

The second-seeded Bengals ended Oswego?s season in the quarterfinals on Tuesday with a 63-48 victory at the Sports Arena. The Bengals used a 21-6 run in the latter stages of the first half to take a 33-20 lead by halftime, and did not allow the Lakers to close the gap. Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) led Buffalo State with a career-high 22 points and eight steals. Dionne Turnage (Buffalo/Traditional) added 15 points, nine rebounds and six steals, and Abby Kochan (Newport/West Canada) chipped in seven points and 10 rebounds.

Buffalo State?s season came to an end in Friday's semifinals, as Brockport defeated the Bengals 50-36 at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Buffalo State only managed a season-low 36 points as it shot just 22.1-percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers. Freshmen Turnage and Desiree Gibson (Rochester/Edison Tech) led the Bengals with 11 points each, and Turnage added eight rebounds. Kochan added 13 rebounds for Buffalo State.

The Bengals finished the season 18-9.

TRACK & FEILD - Bengals Compete atthe NYSCTC Championship

This past weekend the Buffalo State's track and field teams traveled to St. Lawrence University to run in the New York State Cross Country and Trach Conference (NYSCTC) Championships.

On the women's side, the Bengals finished eighth of 13 team with 29 points. Leading the way was freshman Linda Williams (Rochester/Edison Tech) who captured a championship in the 55-meter dash with a field house record time of 7.38. Celestine Coney (Lyons/Lyons) took second place in the pentathlon with a total of 3082 points, while the 4 x 200 relay team of Autumn Hensel (Akron/Akron), Coney, Keyia Thompkins (Rochester/Edison Tech) and Williams finished in fourth place with a time of 1:49.59.

The men's team also placed eighth of 14 teams with a total of 21 points. The 4x200 relay team of Eugene Overton (Syracuse/Corcoran), Dan Conti (West Seneca/Maryvale), Chris Lape (Millbrook/Millbrook) and Justin Muise (Kenmore/Kenmore West) set a meet record and captured first place with a time of 1:31.27. Muise also took third place in the 200-meter dash crossing the finish line in 22.99. Matt Kubiak (Lakeview/Frontier) placed sixth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 2:35.57.

Who's next?

Buffalo State will open up its outdoor season on Saturday, April 5, at Duke University.

WOMENS HOCKEY - (5-15-3, 3-6-3) Season Ends in Semifinals Elmira

Buffalo State traveled to Elmira on Saturday, to face-off against the defending National Champion Soaring Eagles in the ECAC West Semifinals for the second consecutive season.

Top-seeded Elmira showed why it is the number one team in the nation, out-shooting the fourth-seeded Bengals by a 66-3 margin, and walking away with the 4-0 victory. Mary Keddie (Williamsivlle/Buffalo Bisons) was acrobatic between the pipes making 62 saves for Buffalo State in the loss.

Buffalo State ends its season 5-15-3 overall, and 3-6-3 in ECAC West play.