Women's Basketball Remains on Top of SUNYAC; Men's Basketball Downs Wildcats in OT Thriller; Men's Hockey Clinches First-Ever SUNYAC Playoff Berth; SUNYAC Week Finally Arrives for Swimming and Diving; Indoor Track and Field Geared Up for SUNYACs; Women's Hockey Shuts Out in Elmira



WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (19-3/12-1) - Bengals Remain on Top of SUNYAC



Buffalo State posted another pair of conference wins this week, and still remains one game ahead of Cortland for first place in the SUNYAC.



On Tuesday, Buffalo State extended its winning streak to six games, and hung on to it number-one seeding, defeating Brockport for the second time in two weeks, 64-59. The Golden Eagles took a 31-28 at halftime, but Buffalo State mounted a 16-0 run to open the second-half. Although the Bengals never trailed again, they let a 17-point lead slip to a one-point advantage with 2:56 remaining. A three-pointer by Abby Kochan (Newport/West Canada) and some clutch free throws in the final minute iced the five-point victory. Perhaps even more important than earning the victory, the Bengals learned to overcome adversity when senior center Monica Polka (Youngstown/Lewiston-Porter) picked up her third foul just 5:53 into the game. Senior Cora Humphreys (New York/Grace H. Dodge) and freshman Ericka Miner (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) came off the bench and filled in admirably, steadying the Bengals confidence. Sophomore Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) led the Bengals scoring with a career-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Kochan joined Hanks in double figures with 13 points and a recorded three blocked shots.



The Bengals played their second road game of the week on Saturday at Utica/Rome, and easily pushed their winning streak to seven games with a 74-42 victory. Buffalo State took is first lead 4:33 into the game, and never looked back. Polka led the Bengals with 14 poins, Julie Jackson (Syracuse/Bishop Luden) scored 11, and Hanks added 10. Freshman Erin Strassburg (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda) matched a career-high with nine points, hitting three times from behind the arc. Buffalo State recorded a season-high nine blocked shots, as Miner, Polka and Kochan all recorded two apiece.



Buffalo State improved to 19-3 and 12-1 in SUNYAC play.



Who's Next?



Buffalo State will wrap up its regular season this week with three important conference games. The Bengals will travel to Geneseo on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. tip-off. Win or lose on Tuesday, the playoff seeding could be determined on Friday night when the Bengals play host to Cortland. The Red Dragons sit just one game behind the Bengals for the number-one seeding in the conference. On Saturday, Buffalo State closes out the regular season with a home contest against Oswego, who could potentially be the Bengals first-round opponent.



20-20?



Buffalo State is currently 19-3 on the season with a minimum of four game remaining in the 2001-02 season. The team needs one more win to reach the 20-win plateau for the 11th time in school history. The school record for wins in a season is 25, set during the 1993-94 campaign.



MEN'S BASKETBALL (14-5/10-3) - Bengals Down Wildcats in OT Thriller



Buffalo State split a pair of SUNYAC games this past week, and stayed in second-place in the conference with one week remaining.



On Tuesday, Buffalo State traveled to Tuttle North Gymnasium to face a Brockport team seeking revenge for the 19-point beating the Bengals dished out two weeks earlier. The loss was still the lone blemish on the tenth-ranked Golden Eagles 19-1 record. Buffalo State came out strong in the first half, leading by as many as nine points, before taking a four-point lead into the intermission. In the second half, Brockport mounted a steady attack, outscoring Buffalo State 53-42, on route to a 79-72 win. Seniors Drew Mclaren (White Plairs (Rochester/Aquinas Institute) added 11 points and Aaron McFollins (Batavia/Batavia) scored 10 points off the bench.



Buffalo State visited a dangerous Utica/Rome team on Saturday, and escaped with a 91-88 double-overtime victory. Utica/Rome launched an aerial assault on the Bengals all night, throwing up 81 field goal attempts and hitting on 14 -of-41 three-point tries. After the teams played to a

35-35 draw in the first half, Utica/Rome led for the majority of the second stanza. Sanders finally tied the score at 74-74 when he knocked down a three-pointer with just 10 seconds remaining to force overtime. The Wildcats played with the lead in the first overtime as well, until Jeremy Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East) hit a running lay-up with just five seconds left to send the game to yet another extra period. In the second overtime, Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) hit four consecutive free throws in the final 30 seconds to finally seal the victory for Buffalo State.



The Bengals improved to 14-5 overall and 10-3 in conference play.



Who's Next?



Buffalo State will play three games this week to close out the 2001-02 regular season. The Bengals will travel to Geneseo at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, before hosting Cortland and Oswego on the weekend.



Honoring 400?



A brief ceremony will be held prior to Friday night's 8 p.m. contest against Cortland, honoring Coach Dick Bihr for his 400th career win. Bihr became the 19th coach in Division III to reach the milestone, when his Bengals defeated Potsdam on January 25.



MEN'S HOCKEY (10-13-1/5-7-1) - Bengals Clinch First-Ever SUNYAC Playoff Berth



Buffalo State posted an 0-2-1 record this past week, but still clinched its first-ever berth in the SUNYAC playoffs.



The Bengals opened the week on Tuesday with a non-conference showdown at the Utica Memorial Auditorium against Utica College. Buffalo State opened the scoring at 4:55, when Todd Nowicki (Tonawanda/Wheatfield Blades) lit the lamp. Utica scored twice in the first period to take a lead into intermission, but Kevin Badura (Cheektowaga/West Seneca West) scored to even the score. After another Pioneer goal, Nowicki answered with his second of the night to knot the score at 3-3. Utica tallied the game-winner with 3:34 remaining, sending the Bengals home with a 4-3 defeat. Each team recorded just one minor penalty, and Buffalo State out-shot the Pioneers 31-23.



Buffalo State returned to conference play on Friday with Oswego at the Ice Arena. Buffalo State jumped out to a pair of two-goal leads in this game at 3-1 and again at 5-3, but the Great Lakers rallied to score twice in the final period to send the game to overtime. Buffalo State dominated the extra session, out-shooting Oswego 5-0, but came away with a 5-5 tie. Nowicki led the Bengals again with two goals and two assists, and Joe Urbanik (Calumet City, IL/Waterloo) notched a goal and three assists. Jason Comardo (Rochester/Monroe CC) added a goal and an assist, and Rocky Reeves (Anchorage, AK/Ventura) scored the other Bengal goal. Freshman Adam Horvath (Coplay, PA/Pelham) made 41

saves as the Bengals were out-shot 46-29.



The Bengals entered Saturday's contest with Cortland needing a win to keep home playoff hopes alive. The Red Dragons netted three straight goals to open the scoring, however, and Buffalo State never got back in the game. Cortland went on to defeat the Bengals 7-3. Reeves scored

twice for Buffalo State, and Sean Mask (London, ON/Petrolia) added the other Bengal goal.



Buffalo State is now 10-13-1 overall and 5-7-1 in SUNYAC play.



Who's Next?



Buffalo State will close out its home and regular season schedules Tuesday night against Fredonia at 7 p.m. The Bengals will then compete in the SUNYAC playoffs on Friday and Saturday with site loo) tallied four points in Friday's 5-5 tie against Oswego, making him the second player in Buffalo State history to eclipse the 100-career point mark. The forward now has 103 career points in 71 games.



SWIMMING & DIVING (Men: 3-7; Women 4-7) - SUNYAC Week Finally Arrives



Buffalo State had this past week off from competition as they prepared for the SUNYAC Championships. Buffalo State looks to make waves at this year's competition at the E.C.C. Burt Flickinger Aquatics Center in Buffalo, New York, on February 13-16.



Bengal swimmers to watch are Natalie Brown (Derby/Odessa-Montour), Leslie Seier (Palmyra/Pamyra-Macedon), Mark Beyer (West Seneca/West Seneca East), Paul Glieco (Williamsville/Williamsville South), and Dan Hoefert (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda), as these seniors look to finish their collegiate careers on a high note.



Also for the women, watch for junior Alicia Tutwiler (Grand Island/Grand Island) to have a strong showing in the butterfly and freestyle events, while freshman Jenessa Wheeler (Rochester/Hilton) will swim in the individual medley and breaststroke races.



In men's competition, Matt Helming (Amherst/Sweet Home) is a possible top place finisher in the freestyle events and Jamie Scott (Endicott/Union Endicott) looks to shatter records in sprint freestyle races and breaststroke competitions.



Bengal divers competing for the SUNYAC title will be freshman Denise Wolff (Cheektowaga/Maryvale) and sophomores Tom Schilke (Tonawanda/Sweet Home) and Brett Stodolka (Darien/Alexander).



Under the leadership of Head Coach Mike Switalski many of the Bengal swimmers feel they are peaking at the right time and hope to break personal and school records while challenging for the SUNYAC Championship. The men's and women's teams each placed fifth out of nine teams in last year's SUNYAC Championship.



The Championships will start on Thursday, February 14 at 10:00 a.m., and continue on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with preliminaries starting at 10:00 a.m. and finals at 6:00 p.m. each day.



INDOOR TRACK & FIELD - Bengals Geared Up for SUNYACs



Buffalo State has been preparing for the SUNYAC Championships. The team will travel to Hobart for the conference meet this Friday and Saturday. Look for the team to have strong finishes in the individual and relay sprint races with the performances of Markus Allen

(Commack/St. John's the Baptist) and Aaron Kinard (Queens/Springfield Gardens). Luis Espinosa (Medina/Medina) will vie for the top spot in the shot put. John Lesure (Rochester/Greece Athena) has the potential to contend for the triple and long jump title. Also, keep on eye out for AJ Walsh (Hamburg/Frontier), Joe Niezgoda (Alden/Alden) and Matt Kubiak (Lake View/Frontier) to have impressive performances in the mid and long distance events.



For the women, Autumn Hensel (Akron/Akron) will compete for top honors in the sprint events. Nicole Rowland (Brooklyn/Stephen Austin) and Mimi Mason (Buffalo/Turner Carroll) will both challenge for the SUNYAC Championships in jumping competitions.



WOMEN'S HOCKEY (6-13/6-12) - Bengals Shut Out in Elmira



Buffalo State traveled to Elmira this weekend to take on the ECAC West leaders. The Soaring Eagles defeated the

Bengals in consecutive shutouts by scores of 5-0 and 4-0. The over-matched Bengals did their best to battle the

Soaring Eagles, but Elmira's total team effort was too much for the young Bengal team.



Highlighting the weekend for the Bengals was the superb play of sophomore net-minder Mary Keddie (Williamsville/Buffalo Bisons). Keddie stopped 99 shots in the two games. Keddie's never-give-up attitude was evident as she stood tall between the pipes and allowed only one goal on 25 shots in the third period of Saturday's contest. Elmira's barrage of 25 shod Red Dragons, the team they began their regular season against. Buffalo State split the season opening series with Cortland with a 4-1 loss on Saturday, November 10 and a 5-2 win on Sunday, November 11. Cortland's conference record is 5-13 and Buffalo State's conference record is 6-12. All-time, Buffalo State leads the series 4-2.



Win and they are in?



Despite this weekend's results, Buffalo State can still clinch the final playoff spot this weekend when it travels to Cortland. The Bengals need one win in the two-game series with the Red Dragons to qualify for the inaugural ECAC West playoffs.



Bombarded...



On the season, Mary Keddie (Williamsville/Buffalo Bisons) has made 592 saves, and is ranked third in the conference with a .924 save percentage. Very impressive statistics considering Keddie has faced more than twice as many shots as the other top four goalies in the ECAC West.