Recapping events from Monday, February 16 – Sunday, February 22

MEN'S BASKETBALL – Bengals Sneak Into SUNYAC Playoffs

Geneseo (17-7/10-5) outrebounded Buffalo State, 51-24, en route to a 59-50 victory Tuesday at the Sports Arena.

The Blue Knights led 32-26 at halftime. Buffalo State rallied in the second frame, and led 43-41 with 11:12 remaining, but the lead was short-lived. Geneseo went ahead to stay moments later, and went on to the nine-point win.

Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca) led the Bengals with 24 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Joshua Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) added 12 points and six boards.

Buffalo State could not get its offense in gear on Friday as it fell 56-49 in a SUNYAC contest at Oswego (17-7/10-5).

The Bengals led for most of the opening 20 minutes, but fell behind 26-25 by halftime. Buffalo State failed to get going in the second half as Oswego held on for the seven-point victory.

Joshua Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) led Buffalo State with 16 points and nine rebounds. Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca) scored 11 points and added 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.

Buffalo State (13-11/7-9) earned a berth in the SUNYAC playoffs on Saturday with a 75-66 win over Cortland (16-9/8-8).

Buffalo State junior guard Jeremy Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East) entered the record books today when his second assist of the game broke the school's career mark of 293. Konst finished with six assists and four points. Buffalo State took a 33-30 lead into halftime but found themselves down by a score of 46-45 with 12 minutes to play in the game. Buffalo State went on a 22-6 run over the next eight minutes to capture a 67-52 lead.

Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) led the Bengals in scoring with 26 points and registered a career-high 14 rebounds. Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca) scored 23 points and added seven rebounds and five assists to his career totals.

The Bengals earned the sixth seed in the SUNYAC playoffs and will visit No. 3 Potsdam on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

TRACK & FIELD – Bengals Compete at SUNYAC Championships

Buffalo State competed in the SUNYAC Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday at the Robert A. Bristol Fieldhouse in Geneva, NY today. The men's team finished third out of nine teams with 69 points, while the women finished in ninth out of nine teams registering 18 points.

Bengal sophomore Justin Muise (Kenmore/Kenmore West) led the way for the men with winning time of 50.42 in the 400 meter run and an second place finish in 55 meter hurdles with a time of 7.89. Buffalo State's Ken Ciolek (Limestone/Bradford) had a solid day finishing second in both the high jump and the triple jump. Tim Giagos (Rochester/Gates-Chili) also captured first place points for the Bengals in the 500 meter run with a time of 1:07.50. Rob Kozlowski (Elma/Iroquois) also broke his own school record in the 35-pound weight throw, measuring 13.48 meters.

On the women's side freshman Mercedes Roper (Buffalo/City Honors) won the 55 meter dash with an NCAA provisional cut time of 7.27 to earn 10 points for the Bengals. Roper also finished fourth in the 200 meter dash with a mark of 26.59, as she set new Buffalo State records in both events. Sophomore Linda Williams (Rochester/Edison Tech) also had two top-eight finishes for Buffalo State. Cortland captured the men's title scoring 176 points, while Geneseo won the women's championship with 203 points.

The Buffalo State track and field teams will be back in action next weekend when they compete in the NYSTC Championship at St. Lawrence.

MEN'S HOCKEY – Bengals Fall to Fredonia to End Season

Buffalo State closed out the 2003-2004 season with a 4-0 loss to Fredonia at home on Tuesday night. The Bengals finished the season 7-18-0 overall and 3-11 in SUNYAC play.

The Bengals were unable to get the puck past Blue Devil goaltender Rob Stanley as two Buffalo State seniors played in their last game of their career. Fredonia scored one goal in the first frame, added two in the second, and scored once more in the final period to finish the scoring at 4-0. Freshman goaltender Sean Sheehan (Mt. Laurel, NJ/Abitibi Eskimos) made 25 saves in the pipes for the Bengals.

Senior captain Mark Yoder (Ft. Wayne, IN/Grand Rapids) finished his career with 69 points on 25 goals and 44 assists in 80 games. Yoder played four years for the Bengals, and finished ranked 5th on Buffalo State's All-Time Scoring list. Justin Cefaly (Hamburg, NY/ECC) finished his career as a Bengal with four assists and four penalty minutes in 24 games at Buffalo State. Cefaly transferred into Buffalo State after playing two years at Erie Community College.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – Bengals Earn No. 5 Seed in SUNYAC Playoffs

Jacey Brooks (Machais/Franklinville) led Buffalo State with 21 points as the Bengals defeated Geneseo (16-8/10-5), 72-66, in a SUNYAC contest Tuesday at the Sports Arena.

Buffalo State held a 34-31 advantage at halftime, and the Bengals never relinquished the lead in the second stanza en route to the nine-point victory. Bufalo State shot 48-percent from the field, and the Blue Knights shot 46-percent.

Brooks complimented her 21 points with nine rebounds. Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) scored 16 points and had four steals. Desi Gibson (Rochester/Edison Tech) added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Darnika Moseley (Liverpool/Liverpool) scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Buffalo State exploded for a season-high 75 points as five players scored in double-figures in a 75-62 victory on Friday at Oswego (19-5/12-3).

The Bengals trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening stanza, and were down 30-24 at the intermission. Buffalo State rallied in the second half and took its first lead at 51-50 with 5:32 remaining. The lead change came in the middle of a 20-1 run. The Bengals made 13 free throws in the final 2:30 to ice the victory.

Desi Gibson (Rochester/Edison Tech) led the Bengals' scorers with 17 points and eight rebounds. Beth Hogan (Great Valley/Salamanca) and Jacey Brooks (Machais/Franklinville) added 16 and 14 points respectively. Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) and Darnika Moseley (Liverpool/Liverpool) each recorded double-doubles. Hanks had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Moseley scored 12 points and grabbed 12 boards.

Buffalo State (13-12/11-5) closed out the regular season Saturday with a 63-46 loss at SUNYAC-rival Cortland (21-4/14-2).

The Red Dragons closed out the opening half with a 14-1 run to take a 30-17 lead into the intermission. Cortland never let the Bengals within 11 points in the second half, and cruised to the 17-point victory.

Monique Hanks (Liverpool/Liverpool) recorded her sixth double-double of the season to lead Buffalo State with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Beth Hogan (Great Valley/Salamanca) added 12 points, and Jacey Brooks (Machais/Franklinville) chipped in nine points.

With the loss, Buffalo State fell to fifth place in the SUNYAC and will travel to No. 4 Geneseo for Tuesday night's quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. Cortland finished as the top-seed in the conference.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY – Bengals Lose and Tie Cortland

Buffalo State dropped a 4-2 decision to conference-rival Cortland at the Buffalo State Ice Arena on Saturday.

Buffalo State scored the game's first goal on captain Emma Wadsworth's (Arlington, VA/Reston Raiders) powerplay shot that beat the Cortland goaltender to put the Bengals up 1-0 five minutes into the game. Defenseman Nicole Jewell (Fenton, MI/Honeybaked) and freshman Jamie Overbeck (Tonawanda/Buffalo Bisons) assisted on Wadsworth's goal. Cortland would come back and tie the game at the 7:00 minute mark of the second period on the powerplay. The Bengals captured a 2-1 lead less than three minutes later with a one-man advantage when senior Kim Costanzo (Cheektowaga/Buffalo Bisons) took a pass from Overbeck and buried it in the back of the Cortland net.

Buffalo State would be unable to keep their 2-1 lead as the Red Dragons came out in the final period and tallied two goals in the first seven minutes of the period. Cortland added one more goal at the 11:13 mark to finish the game's scoring at 4-2. Senior goaltender Mary Keddie (Williamsville/Buffalo Bisons) made 25 stops in net for the Bengals.

Buffalo State closed out the home portion of its schedule Sunday with a 2-2 tie against ECAC West-rival Cortland.

Cortland opened the scoring just 2:18 into the game, but the Bengals knotted the score with a power-play marker off the stick of Emma Wadsworth (Arlington, VA) midway through the opening period. Kim Costanzo (Cheektowaga, NY) recorded the lone assist on the goal. The Red Dragons scored the only goal of the second frame, but Buffalo State would get the equalizer on the power-play once again, early in the third period. Freshman Jamie Overbeck (Tonawanda, NY) scored her sixth goal of the season, with assists from Amanda Uschold (Rochester, NY) and Tara Ostempowski (Lancaster, NY). Neither team would light the lamp again as the game ended in deadlock. Mary Keddie (Williamsville, NY) made 28 saves for the Bengals.

Buffalo State is now 2-18-3 overall and 0-8-2 in ECAC West play. The Bengals will close out the season next weekend when they travel to Chatham (PA) for a pair of games.