Bengal Beat - Volume 10, Issue 17

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Men's Basketball Wins Two - Bihr Earns 400th Win; Women's Basketball Remains Unbeaten in SUNYAC Play; Men's Hockey Blows Past Neumann; Women's Hockey Returns to Action this Weekend vs. Plattsburgh; Swimming and Diving Back in the Water this Week



MEN'S BASKETBALL (8-3/4-1) - Bengals Win Two; Bihr Earns 400th Win



Buffalo State returned to SUNYAC play this week, winning twice, and earning Coach Dick Bihr his 400th career victory. The Bengals beat Geneseo 76-52, and blew past Potsdam 68-47 on Saturday.



On Tuesday, Geneseo came to the Sports Arena on Tuesday with a 2-1 conference record, matching that of the Bengals. Buffalo State jumped out of the gates opening the game on a 13-2 run and carried a 31-15 advantage into the locker room at halftime. Buffalo State continued to roll in the second half, as it cruised to the 24-point victory. Willie Sanders (Rochester/Aquinas Instit.) and Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) each had 15 points and pulled down nine and six rebounds respectively. Senior center Pat Adams (Brooklyn/Boys and Girls) scored 14 points and had eight rebounds, while Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca) chipped in 10 points.



The Bengals traveled to Potsdam on Saturday, to face another team they were tied with in the SUNYAC standings at 3-1. An 11-0 run to start the game put Buffalo State in the drivers seat to cruise to a 21-point victory, the 400th of Bihr's college coaching career. Senior guard Drew Mclaren (White Plains/Iona Prep) led the Bengals scorers with 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from three-point land. Becker was the only other Bengal in double-figures with 16 points and eight rebounds. Adams had 13 boards and six points, while Davis and Shawn Haseley (Grand Island/Grand Island) had eight points apiece.



Buffalo State improved to 8-3 overall and 4-1 in SUNYAC play.



Who's Next?



Buffalo State will go back on the road this weekend to meet New Paltz and Oneonta on Friday and Saturday. Buffalo State split a pair of meeting with New Paltz last season. The Bengals will look to complete the sweep of Oneonta, after beating the Red Dragons 95-76 earlier this season.



Rolling Along?



Buffalo State is currently on a five-game winning streak. During that stretch, the Bengals average margin of victory has been 18.0 points-per-game.



Sharp Shooters?



Buffalo State is shooting 44.3 percent from the field to this point in the season. Leading the charge in 6'7" center Pat Adams (Brooklyn/Boys and Girls), who has connected on 63.2 percent of his field goals.



400 Club?



Buffalo State Coach Dick Bihr became the 34th coach in Division III history to earn 400 wins in his 22nd year at the helm of the Bengals. His overall record is 400-170 (.702).



WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (11-2/5-0) - Bengals Remain Unbeaten in SUNYAC Play



Buffalo State stayed undefeated in SUNYAC play, winning a pair of conference games this past week. The Bengals defeated Geneseo 64-61, and Potsdam 77-50.



On Tuesday, Buffalo State hosted Geneseo, and opened up a 13-point lead at halftime. The Knights would not go away, however, chipping away at the deficit in the second-half. Geneseo took a one-point lead with 8:19 to play. Both teams traded baskets down the stretch, until Monica Polka (Youngstown/Lew-Port) hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds remaining to put the Bengals ahead 62-61. Chrissy Milleville (Niagara Falls/Niagara Wheatfield) dropped another pair of foul shots with 14 seconds to play to ice the three-point victory. Milleville led the offensive attack, scoring a career-high 27 points. Polka pulled down 10 rebounds to compliment her eight points, and freshman Ericka Miner (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) tallied eight points off the bench, as the Bengals survived the scare.



Buffalo Sttire game, they only held a one-point lead of 33-32 at halftime. Buffalo State awoke during the intermission, however, and vaulted to the 27-point win outscoring Potsdam 44-18 in the final 20 minutes. Polka and Milleville led the Bengals again, scoring 21 and 16 points respectively. Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) scored nine points, Abby Kochan (Newport/West Canada) added eight, and Tatiana Tucker (Freeport/Freeport) chipped in seven points from the bench.



Buffalo State improved to 11-2 overall and 5-0 in conference play.



Who's Next?



Buffalo State will continue with SUNYAC action this Friday at New Paltz, before visiting Oneonta on Saturday. The Bengals swept both meetings with New Paltz last season, and defeated Oneonta 54-32 at the Sports Arena earlier this season.



Adding Up?



Senior forward Chrissy Milleville (Niagara Falls/Niagara Wheatfield) moved into 10th place on Buffalo State's all-time scoring list with 911 career points. With a minimum of 12 games left, she remains on pace to become just the seventh player in Bengals history to score 1,000 career points.



On the Brink?



Senior center Monica Polka (Youngstown/Lew-Port) has totaled 498 career rebounds, despite playing just three seasons with the black and orange. She needs just two more boards to become the seventh player in school history to record 500 rebounds.



MEN'S HOCKEY (9-6/4-3) - Bengals Blow Past Neumann



Buffalo State displayed its offensive talents this weekend in back-to-back games versus Neumann College. The Bengals defeated the Knights Friday night by a score of 8-1, then continued the onslaught Saturday by tallying a season high 10 goals in a 10-2 decision.



In Friday night's game, Bengal leading goal scorer, junior Joe Urbanik (Calumet City, IL/Waterloo Blackhawks) scored the first of his two goals just 28 seconds into the first period to give the Bengals the lead. The Knights attempted to make the game competitive by matching the score less than 2 minutes later, but the Bengals continued the offensive display by scoring two more goals in the first. Josh Bluman (Williamsville/Ft. Erie Meteors) recorded the game-winning goal at 15:17 of the first period. From there the Bengals displayed their offensive prowess by dominating the remainder of the game. Urbanik opened the second period scoring and led the way for the Bengal's four-goal second period. Buffalo State's balanced scoring attack included single goals by six different players. Mark Yoder (Ft. Wayne, IN/Grand Rapids Bearcats), Sean Mask (London, ONT/Petrolia Jets), Todd Nowicki (Tonawanda/Wheatfield Blades), Rocky Reeves (Anchorage, AK/Ventura Mariners), and Ricardo Hernandez (Eagle River, AK/Ventura Mariners) each scored in the victory.



Saturday, Buffalo State continued their domination of the Knights by scoring four goals in the second period en route to a season high 10 goals. The Bengals jumped out to an early 3-0 first period lead, and never looked back. Senior forward, Jason Comardo (Rochester/Monroe CC) opened the scoring at 14:44 of the first. Urbanik tallied the next two Bengal goals. Urbanik led all scorers with a game high six points on two goals and four assists. Two other Bengals also lit the lamp twice on Saturday. Nowicki and Bluman each scored twice in the third period as the Bengals cruised to victory. Reeves, Kevin Badura (Cheektowaga/ West Seneca HS), and Mark Infantino (Buffalo/St. Catharines) all contributed by netting a goal each.



Who's Next?



The Bengals look to improve their 9-6 record this weekend as they host Manhattanville on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.



What Advantage?



Dating back to December 7, 2001, the Buffalo State Bengals have not surrendered a power play goal. In all, the Bengals have successfully defended 27 man adTops in the Nation



Joe Urbanik's (Calumet City, IL/Waterloo) game winning goal on Saturday night moved him into the top spot in Division III with four game winners.



Streaking



Josh Bluman (Williamsville/Ft. Erie Meteors) has a recorded at least one goal in each of the last three games.



With Honors



Joe Urbanik (Calumet City, IL/Waterloo) was named SUNYAC Player of the Week after recording nine points in two games this weekend at Neumann.



WOMEN'S HOCKEY (3-8/3-7) - Buffalo St. Returns to Action this Weekend vs. Plattsburgh



Buffalo State returns to action this weekend at home to take on Plattsburgh. The Bengals seek to avenge an early season sweep by the Cardinals. After a rough start, Buffalo State closed out the first half of its season with impressive back-to-back victories and improved their record to 3-5. The Bengals host Plattsburgh Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.



SWIMMING & DIVING (Men: 1-4; Women 2-4) - Bengals Back in the Water this Week



Buffalo State will travel to Cortland on a dual meet on Monday, and head back east on Saturday to swim at Oswego. The Bengals have just four meets remaining as they gear up for the SUNYAC Championships to be held February 13-16 at the Flickinger Aquatic Center at ECC.
Media Contact:
Jeffrey Ventura, Sports Information Director | 7168786030 | venturjm@buffalostate.edu