Recapping events from Monday, December 30 - Sunday, January 5, 2003

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL (4-4, 2-0) Buffalo State Returns to Action with Pair of Losses

Buffalo State returned to action this weekend with a pair of non-conference games, dropping both contests. After falling at New York University 86-58 on Saturday, the Bengals came up short at Manhattanville on Sunday, 63-52.

In its first action since December 7, Buffalo State kept pace with NYU early, running with the Violets the first 6:45, as the score was 16-16. NYU closed the half with a 24-11 run, however, and took a 40-27 lead into the intermission. That would be as close as the Bengals would come, as NYU cruised in the second half, shooting 58 percent from the field en route to the 28-point win. Dionne Turnage (Buffalo/Traditional) was the Bengals? high-scorer with 20 points, and Abby Kochan (Newport/West Canada) added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

On Sunday, Buffalo State looked to get back on track at Manhattanville, but committed 38 turnovers and shot just 29 percent from the field as it fell 63-52. Turnage was the high-scorer again, scoring 13 points. Desiree Gibson (Rochester/Edison Tech) added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Buffalo State was just 0-for-1 from three point range.

Buffalo State fell to 4-4 on the season.

Who?s Next?

The Bengals will travel to Daemen on Thursday for another non-conference match-up. Tip-off is 7 p.m.

MEN'S BASKETBALL (5-3, 2-0) Buffalo State Spits at Behrend Invitational

After earning a split in Las Vegas the week before, Buffalo State could only match that success last weekend at the Penn State Behrend Invitational.

The Bengals faced the host school on Friday, and were unable to capitalize on a 31-28 advantage as they fell 58-55. Buffalo State shot 66.7 percent from three-point range in the first half, but only connected on 27.3 percent of its long-range shots in the final 20 minutes. Twins Jeremy and Justin Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East) combined for 29 points as Jeremy scored 19 and Justin added 10. Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) added 13 points and nine rebounds and Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca) grabbed 13 boards.

Buffalo State faced D'Youville in the consolation game on Saturday and cruised to a 65-51 victory. The Bengals allowed just 15 Spartan points in the first half and took a 29-15 lead into the intermission. Becker led all scorers with 16 points, and the junior added eight rebounds. Anthony Piccolo (Depew/Depew) scored 12 points and grabbed nine boards.

Who's Next?

Buffalo State will host the Holiday Inn Invitational this Friday and Saturday at the Sports Arena. Buffalo State will meet Hilbert on Friday at 8 p.m. following the Medaille-D'Youville match-up at 6 p.m. The consolation and championship games will be held on Saturday at 6 and 8 p.m. respectively.