BUFFALO BASKETBALL THE SEASON

Transcription

1 BUFFALO BASKETBALL THE SEASON Schedule/Results Buffalo (18-7, 10-6 MAC) at Ohio (16-9, 10-6 MAC) March 2, :00 pm - Convocation Center (13,000) N20 at Connecticut L, N23 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W, OT N27 INDIANA STATE# W, D1 COLGATE W, D4 W. MICHIGAN* L, D7 at Elon W, OT D11 NIAGARA W, OT D18 at Canisius W, D21 at Penn State W, J2 at Bowling Green* L, J6 at C. Michigan* W, J9 TOLEDO* W, J12 at Akron* L, J15 MIAMI* W, J19 at Kent State* L, OT J25 NO. ILLINOIS* W, J27 MARSHALL* W, J29 at E. Michigan* W, F2 OHIO* L, F5 at Miami* L, OT F8 at W. Michigan* W, F12 BALL STATE* W, F15 KENT STATE* W, F19 at Fresno State@ W, F23 at Marshall* W, M2 at Ohio* 7:00 M5 AKRON* 2:00 M7 MAC Tournament TBA * Mid-American Conference Game # HSBC ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday Did You Know? The Bulls 18 wins ties the mark for most wins ever as a Division I program Tip-Off: 7:00 pm Radio: WLVL 1340 AM. Jim Rosenhaus (play-byplay) calls the action. Television: None Records: Buffalo is 18-7 on the season and is coming off a win at Marshall last Wednesday night. Ohio is 16-9 on the year and is coming off an win at Marshall on Saturday night. Both teams have a 10-6 record in the MAC. Coaches: Buffalo head coach Reggie Witherspoon (Empire State 95) is in six seasons with the Bulls, overall in eight seasons. Ohio head coach Tim O Shea (Boston College 84) is in Bulls Battle the Bobcats Buffalo will play at Ohio on Wednesday night in its third straight road game. The Bulls are 18-7 overall, 10-6 in the MAC and are coming off a win at Marshall on Feb. 23. UB was led by Turner Battle who scored 21 points and added five rebounds and three assists. Ohio is 16-9 overall, 10-6 in the MAC and is coming off an win at Marshall on Saturday night. The Bobcats are led by Mychal Green who is averaging 14.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Ohio leads the all-time series The Bobcats, who have won all but one meeting since the Bulls joined the MAC in 1998, defeated UB, 92-90, back on Feb. 2. Turner Battle led the Bulls with a career-high 29 points and eight rebounds. four seasons with the Bobcats, his career record is the same. SID Contacts: Buffalo athletic communications director Jon Fuller; Ohio sports information coordinator Jim Stephan. Websites: Buffalo - ; Ohio - The Series: Ohio leads, 14-2 Officials: Announced on game day. On Deck: Buffalo will host Akron on Saturday afternoon. Ohio will play at Kent State on Saturday night. BULL-etins The Bulls are in search of their sixth straight win. This is the third of three straight road games. Buffalo leads the MAC in scoring average (74.8 ppg). The Bulls are 8-5 on the road this season. The Bulls are in search of their first-ever win at the Convocation Center (0-6). Turner Battle scored a career-high 29 points in the last meeting between the schools (Feb. 2). Buffalo is averaging 12.3 steals over the last three games. The Bulls have had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season. Bulls at a Glance No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg. Rpg. Note 1 Jason Bird G Sr Has started the last 2 games 3 Wallace Hall G Fr Has seen action in 5 of the last 6 games 4 Darwin Young G So Has played in 6 games 10 Calvin Cage G Jr Ranks 6th in the MAC in 3-point shooting 11 Turner Battle G Sr Has scored 20+ points in 7 games this season 21 Andrew Atman F R-Fr Has seen action in 2 games 22 Roderick Middleton G Jr Averaging 12.5 points over the last 2 games 23 Christian Schmidt F Fr year old freshman who hails from Germany 31 Daniel Gilbert G/F Sr Has started 66 straight games 32 Parnell Smith F So Has started the last 6 games 33 Mario Jordan G/F Jr The Bulls are 6-1 when he scores in double-figures 42 Mark Bortz F Sr Has reached double-figures in 4 of the last 6 games 45 Yassin Idbihi F/C So Had 4 assists against Marshall 55 Brian Andre C So Has seen action in 6 straight games Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon (Empire State 95) Record years at Buffalo; years overall Assistant Coaches Jim Kwitchoff, Michael Mennenga, Chris Hawkins Video Coordinator Stewart Kerr Pronunciations Yassin Idbihi yah-seen EED-bee-hee Michael Mennenga MEN-en-ga bold italics denotes probable starters Contact: Jon Fuller Phone: (716) Alumni Arena, Buffalo, NY [email protected] Fax: (716)

2 Buffalo Quick Facts School Name...University at Buffalo Location...Buffalo, NY Founded Enrollment...27,255 Nickname...Bulls Colors...Royal Blue and White Conference... Mid-American (East Division) Home Court...Alumni Arena Capacity... 6,100 President...John B. Simpson Interim Athletic Director... Bill Maher Head Coach... Reggie Witherspoon Record at UB (6th year) Career Record (8th year) Assistant Coach... Jim Kwitchoff Assistant Coach... Michael Mennenga Assistant Coach...Chris Hawkins Basketball SID...Jon Fuller Office Phone Ohio Quick Facts School Name... Ohio University Location...Athens, OH Founded Enrollment...26,404 Nickname... Bobcats Colors... Hunter Green and White Conference...Mid-American Home Court... Convocation Center Capacity...13,000 President... Dr. Robert Glidden Athletic Director...Thomas Boeh Head Coach... Tim O Shea Record at Ohio (4th year) Career Record...Same Associate Coach... John Rhodes Assistant Coach... Brian Townsend Assistant Coach... Danny White Buffalo (18-7) How They Match Up Ohio (16-9) Points Per Game Opponents Points Per Game Point Differential Field Goals Made Field Goals Attempted Field Goal Percentage Opponents Field Goal Percentage Point Field Goals Made Point Field Goals Attempted Point Field Goal Percentage Free Throws Made Free Throws Attempted Free Throw Percentage Offensive Rebounds Defensive Rebounds Total Rebounds Rebounding Average Opponents Rebounding Average Assists Turnovers Blocks Steals Series History Ohio Leads 14-2 Basketball SID... Jim Stephan ... [email protected] Office Phone UB Athletic Communications The University at Buffalo Athletic Communications Office is always interested in assisting members of the media in their coverage of UB menʼs basketball. Publicity and media information for menʼs basketball is handled by Athletic Communications Director Jon Fuller. Weekly news releases, statistics, photographs and other materials are available to media outlets covering the Bullsʼ menʼs basketball team by contacting the UB Athletic Communications Office at In order to avoid any deadline conflicts, it is best to call two days in advance. Asst. AD for Communications... Paul Vecchio Director/Menʼs Basketball... Jon Fuller Director... Heidi Roth Assistant... Ted Wasko Graduate Assistant...Joe Guistina Staff Photographer/Designer... Paul Hokanson University at Buffalo Athletic Communications Office 175 Alumni Arena Buffalo, NY Phone: Fax: Series Record vs. Ohio (2-14) Season Site Result Buffalo L Buffalo W at Ohio L at Ohio L Buffalo L Buffalo L at Ohio L at Ohio L Buffalo L Buffalo L at Ohio L at Ohio L Buffalo L Buffalo L Buffalo L Buffalo W Last Meeting Ohio 92 Buffalo 90 Feb. 2, 2005 Buffalo, NY OHIO (11-7, 6-4 MAC) Harbut Williams Green Troutman Fears Davis Gladney Halbert McGowen TOTALS BUFFALO (13-6, 6-5 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Bortz TOTALS Ohio Buffalo

3 MAC Standings (as of Feb. 28) East Division Conference Overall School W L Pct W L Pct Miami Buffalo Akron Kent State Ohio Marshall West Division Conference Overall School W L Pct W L Pct Bowling Green Western Michigan Toledo Ball State Northern Illinois Eastern Michigan Central Michigan UB in the MAC Rankings (as of Feb. 28) Scoring Offense... 1st (74.8) Scoring Defense...10th (71.2) Scoring Margin...6th (+3.6) Field Goal Percentage... 3rd (.459) Field Goal Percentage Defense... 3rd (.430) Free Throw Percentage...11th (.685) 3-Pt. Field Goal Percentage... 3rd (.378) 3-Pt. Field Goal Defense... 6th (.339) Rebounding Offense... 2nd (36.9) Rebounding Defense...10th (35.1) Rebounding Margin...4th (+1.5) Blocked Shots... T-9th (2.36) Assists...4th (14.96) Steals... 2nd (8.96) Turnover Margin... 6th (+0.64) Assist/Turnover Ratio... 8th (0.93) UB Players in the MAC Rankings As of Feb. 28 Turner Battle Scoring... 8th (15.6) Field Goal Percentage... 3rd (.481) Assists... 6th (4.44) Steals...T-10th (1.52) Assist/Turnover Ratio... 3rd (2.27) Defensive Rebounds...T-13th (3.76) Mark Bortz Scoring...27th (11.0) Rebounding... 12th (5.8) Blocked Shots... T-4th (1.16) Defensive Rebounds...15th (3.68) Calvin Cage Steals...14th (1.40) 3-Point Field Goal Percentage... 6th (.397) 3-Point Field Goals Made... 8th (2.16) Daniel Gilbert Steals...T-10th (1.52) Yassin Idbihi Rebounding... 14th (5.6) Defensive Rebounding...T-13th (3.76) UB Practice Schedule Feb DAY OFF Feb :30-1:30 Feb :00-12:30 Feb. 27-9:30-12:00 Feb :30-1:30 Mar. 1-10:30-1:30 Mar. 2 - OHIO Mar. 3-10:30-1:30 Mar. 4-10:30-1:30 Mar. 5 - Akron Mar. 6-9:00-1:00 Mar. 7 - TBA Mar. 8-10:30-1:30 Mar. 9-10:30-1:30 UB Free Throw Shooting in Last 5 Minutes (and overtime) No. Player 5:00-2:00 1:59-1:00 :59-0:00 OT Total Pct Total Pct. 1 J. Bird W. Hall C. Cage T. Battle R. Middleton D. Gilbert P. Smith M. Jordan M. Bortz Y. Idbihi B. Andre Team Totals In Rod We Trust Roderick Middleton s production has increased since being reassigned as a reserve. The junior guard is averaging 12.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in a reserve role over the last two games. Middleton had started the previous 18 games and averaged 5.6 points per game. Playing Well on the Road Buffalo has won eight road games for the second straight season. It is the most road wins in school history. The Bulls are tied with Western Michigan for the most road wins in the MAC this season. Battle Garnering Basketball Awards Turner Battle has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District First Team. He will now be placed on the national ballot for a chance at garnering Academic All-America honors. The senior point guard was also named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-District Second Team. He is now eligible for the NABC Division I All-American Team. In addition, Battle was one of 64 college seniors selected to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Seniors Bring Experience Buffalo has four players that have played in 100 career games. Daniel Gilbert has played in 110 games, Jason Bird and Mark Bortz have played in 105 games and Turner Battle has played in 104 games. Louis Campbell ( ) holds the record for games played at UB with 112. Defending the Arc The Bulls have done a good job of defending the three-point shot lately. Opponents are shooting 26.3 percent (25-for-95) from beyond the arc over the last five games. On the season, opponents are shooting 33.9 percent from downtown. The Wins Are Piling Up The Bulls have won 35 games dating back to last season. It is the Bulls highest win total in back-to-back seasons since they joined the MAC in It also ties the highest back-to-back win total in school history - the Bulls won 18 games in and 17 games in The Pine Shines The Bulls bench has outscored the starters four times this season, including three times in the last six games. Two of the Bulls top three scorers come off the bench. Mark Bortz is averaging 11.0 points and Calvin Cage is averaging 10.4 points per game. The bench is averaging 35.7 points over the last seven games, accounting for 50.6 percent of Buffalo s total points. Buffalo Wins Road Bracket Buster Game...Again For the second straight season, Buffalo won an ESPN Bracket Buster game on the road with its victory over Fresno State. Last season, the Bulls defeated Indiana State, UB is the only team to have won two Bracket Buster road games in the last two years.

4 Mid-Major Top 25 As of Feb. 28 Record 1. Gonzaga (19) Pacific (12) Southern Illinois St. Mary s Davidson Old Dominion Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wichita State Winthrop Oral Roberts Utah State Vermont Miami (OH) Northern Iowa Western Kentucky Holy Cross Bowling Green Buffalo UNC-Wilmington Creighton Western Michigan Hofstra Boston University Arkansas-Little Rock Akron Number of first place votes in parenthesis. Italics denotes Mid-American Conference member. Bulls by the Numbers Trends When leading at halftime When tied at halftime When trailing at halftime Leading with 5:00 left (regulation) Trailing with 5:00 left (regulation) Tied with 5:00 left (regulation) When UB scores first When opponent scores first In games decided by 3 pts. or less In games decided by 4-10 pts When UB shoots 50% or better When UB shoots under 50% When scoring 90 or more points When scoring points When scoring When scoring When scoring less than 60 points When UB outrebounds opponents When UB is outrebounded When rebounds are even Weekday games Weekend games In overtime games In November games In December games In January games In February games In March games At home On road Bulls vs. Conferences vs. BIG EAST vs. Big Ten vs. Metro Atlantic Athletic vs. Mid-American vs. Missouri Valley vs. Northeast vs. Patriot vs. Southern vs. Western Athletic Preseason All-MAC Team School Cl. P Hometown East Division Turner Battle Buffalo Sr. G Kernersville, NC Yassin Idbihi Buffalo So. C Tangier, Morocco DeAndre Haynes Kent State Jr. G Detroit, MI Danny Horace Miami Sr. F Cincinnati, MI Chet Mason Miami Sr. G Cleveland, OH West Division John Reimold Bowling Green Sr. F Greenville, PA John Bowler Eastern Michigan Jr. F Chicago, IL Keith Triplett Toledo Sr. G Toledo, OH Sammy Villegas Toledo Jr. G Carolina, Puerto Rico/Lima, OH Ben Reed Western Michigan Sr. G Battle Creek, MI Ohio at a Glance Ohio enters the game with a record of 16-9 overall, 10-6 in the MAC and is coming off an win over Marshall on Feb. 26. The Bobcats are led by Mychal Green who is averaging 14.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Leon Williams ranks third in the MAC in rebounding, averaging 8.0 boards per game. Ohio ranks second in the MAC in field goal percentage (.466) Ohio is 11-1 at home this season. Hot Rod Roderick Middleton s block of Dwight O Neil s dunk attempt in the Bulls victory over Fresno State on Feb. 19 ranked eighth on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Plays. Taking Turns Buffalo has had eight different players lead the team in scoring this season. Turner Battle, Jason Bird, Mark Bortz, Calvin Cage, Daniel Gilbert, Yassin Idbihi, Mario Jordan and Roderick Middleton have each garnered high score honors this season. Bulls Ranked in Mid-Major Poll Buffalo is ranked 18th in the latest collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Poll. It is UB s highest ever ranking in the poll. There are five MAC schools ranked in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Battle Named MAC Player of the Week Turner Battle was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week on Feb. 14. It marked the third time this season that the senior point guard has won the award. He also took home the honor on Dec. 1 and Dec. 20. It marks the fourth time that a UB player has won the award. Calvin Cage earned the distinction on Dec. 28. In addition, Battle (Jan. 14, Jan. 30) and Mark Bortz (Dec. 14) have both been named the MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week Buffalo Roster No. Name Pos. Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown Previous School 55 ANDRE, Brian C So Bingham, ME Valley HS/Main Central Institute 21 ATMAN, Andrew F R-Fr Pittsburgh, PA Upper St. Clair HS 11 BATTLE, Turner G Sr Kernersville, NC East Forsyth HS 1 BIRD, Jason G Sr Ypsilanti, MI Ypsilanti HS 42 BORTZ, Mark F Sr Commerce Township, MI Walled Lake Central HS 10 CAGE, Calvin G Jr Capitol Heights, MD Bladensburg HS 31 GILBERT, Daniel G/F Sr Detroit, MI Cass Technical HS 3 HALL, Wallace G Fr Detroit, MI Denby Technical HS 45 IDBIHI, Yassin F/C So Tangier, Morocco Schloss Hagerhof 33 JORDAN, Mario G/F Jr Cleveland, OH Benedictine HS 22 MIDDLETON, Roderick G Jr University Park, IL Marian Catholic HS/Brewster Academy 35 ONYENUCHEYA, Barnard F Fr Bronx, NY John F. Kennedy HS 23 SCHMIDT, Christian F Fr Chemnitz, Germany Schloss Hagerhof 32 SMITH, Parnell F So Indianapolis, IN Pike HS 4 YOUNG, Darwin G So Buffalo, NY Hutchinson Technical HS

5 UB Starters/Bench Scoring Game Total Starters Bench Connecticut FDU Indiana State Colgate W. Michigan Elon Niagara Canisius Penn State Bowling Green C. Michigan Toledo Akron Miami Kent State No. Illinois Marshall E. Michigan Ohio Miami W. Michigan Ball State Kent State Fresno State Marshall Ohio Akron Career Totals Points Turner Battle... 1,293 Mark Bortz Daniel Gilbert Calvin Cage Jason Bird Yassin Idbihi Mario Jordan Roderick Middleton Brian Andre Parnell Smith Wallace Hall Darwin Young... 6 Rebounds Mark Bortz Turner Battle Daniel Gilbert Yassin Idbihi Mario Jordan Roderick Middleton Jason Bird Calvin Cage Parnell Smith Brian Andre Wallace Hall Darwin Young... 2 Assists Turner Battle Daniel Gilbert Roderick Middleton Mark Bortz Jason Bird Calvin Cage Yassin Idbihi Mario Jordan Brian Andre Parnell Smith... 9 Wallace Hall... 5 Darwin Young... 1 Bortz Sets Rebounding Mark Mark Bortz has set the modern era record (since the season) for career rebounds. His 558 career rebounds eclipsed the previous record of 530 held by Rasaun Young ( ). The senior forward ranks fifth all-time in career rebounds at UB. Bortz is the ninth UB player to grab 500 career rebounds. A Season of Firsts On Feb. 8, the Bulls won at Western Michigan s University Arena for the first time. On Jan. 6, UB defeated Central Michigan to win its first-ever game at Rose Arena. On Jan. 9, the Bulls defeated Toledo for the first time in school history. UB beat Penn State on Dec. 21 for its firstever win against a Big Ten opponent. Buffalo downed Fresno State on Feb. 19 in the first-ever meeting between the schools. Mr. Smith Goes to the Starting Lineup Parnell Smith made his first-ever start against Miami on Feb. 5. The sophomore forward, who appeared in only 16 games in his career prior to his first start, has started each of the last six games. He is averaging 3.5 points and 3.0 rebounds as a starter and the Bulls are 5-1. Battle Joins Elite Club Turner Battle is the first player in school history to score 1,000 points, grab 400 rebounds and dish out 400 assists in a career. The senior point guard currently has 1,293 points, 468 rebounds and 423 assists in his career. Battle broke the modern era record (since ) for career assists earlier this season. Working Overtime After not playing an overtime game since the season, the Bulls have played in five overtime games this season. UB is 3-2 in overtime games this season. Home Sweet Home The Bulls are 15-2 in their last 17 home games - their losses coming against Western Michigan on Dec. 4 and Ohio on Feb. 2. The Bulls are averaging 4,429 fans in their last 17 home games. UB ranks fourth in the MAC in home attendance this season (4,149). The Big Man Has Range Buffalo center Yassin Idbihi isn t afraid to pull the trigger from the outside. The sophomore big man ranks fourth on the team in three-point percentage, shooting 38.1 percent from downtown. Ten of his 16 three-pointers have come at home. Taking Care of the Ball Turner Battle has done an excellent job of taking care of the basketball this season. The UB point guard has 111 assists compared to only 50 turnovers on the year. He ranks third in the MAC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.27). He hasn t committed a turnover in five games this season. Cardiac Kids Seven of the Bulls wins have been decided in overtime or on the game s final possession. Buffalo erased a seven-point deficit in the game s Buffalo final Roster 40 seconds to force overtime against Fairleigh Dickinson where the Bulls won, The Bulls topped Elon in overtime and Niagara in double-overtime. A steal and layup by Turner Battle as timed expired gave the Bulls a four-point win over Canisius. Battle provided more heroics against Penn State with a jumper at the buzzer to give Buffalo the two-point victory. Against Toledo, the Bulls erased a 15-point second-half deficit and watched as the Rockets missed three shots in the final seconds to hold on for the victory. Battle sank three free throws in the final 15 seconds to help seal the Bulls victory over Fresno State. Grand Larceny UB is averaging 8.96 steals per game - second in the Mid-American Conference. The Bulls have three players ranked in the top 15 in the MAC in steals. Daniel Gilbert and Turner Battle are tied for 10th - averaging Calvin Cage is 14th - averaging With 35 steals, Cage has surpassed his steal total from his first two seasons combined (31).

6 Top 10 Alumni Arena Crowds* Attendance Opponent Date 1. 8,971 Northern Illinois 3/8/ ,926 North Carolina 12/7/ ,176 Kent State 2/25/ ,119 Northwestern 1/26/ ,009 Niagara 12/11/ ,989 Ball State 2/12/ ,547 Niagara 11/17/ ,378 Canisius 11/21/ ,284 Valparaiso 2/1/ ,161 Youngstown St. 2/18/95 * Attendance records since UB returned to Division I in Statistical Figures Double Figure Scoring Turner Battle Yassin Idbihi Mark Bortz Calvin Cage Daniel Gilbert...9 Mario Jordan...7 Roderick Middleton...7 Jason Bird...3 Double Figure Rebounding Mark Bortz...4 Yassin Idbihi...2 Double-Doubles Mark Bortz...2 Yassin Idbihi...1 Lead Team in Scoring Turner Battle Mark Bortz...4 Yassin Idbihi...4 Calvin Cage...2 Mario Jordan...2 Daniel Gilbert...1 Roderick Middleton...1 Jason Bird...1 Lead Team in Rebouding Mark Bortz Yassin Idbihi...8 Turner Battle...5 Mario Jordan...2 Daniel Gilbert...2 Wallace Hall...1 Roderick Middleton...1 Lead Team in Assists Turner Battle Daniel Gilbert...4 Yassin Idbihi...3 Roderick Middleton...2 Mark Bortz...2 Mario Jordan...1 Jason Bird...1 Parnell Smith...1 Buffalo s All-Time Leading Scorers Name Points 1. Rasaun Young (93-98)...1, Jim Horne (51-55)...1, Mike Martinho (94-98)...1, Sam Pellom (74-78)...1, Louis Campbell (98-02)...1, Rob Middlebrooks (88-92)...1, Turner Battle (01-present)... 1, Curtis Blackmore (70-73)...1, Rick Coleman (87-91)...1, John Fitzpatrick (79-83)...1, Harold Kuhn (49-52)...1, Jack Chalmers (48-51)...1, Mark Bortz (01-present) That Name s Awesome, Baby! Dick Vitale included Calvin Cage on his All-Name Team in the ESPN Magazine College Basketball Preview issue. Say What? Sophomore center Yassin Idbihi speaks six different languages. The Morocco native, who attended high school in Germany, speaks English, German, French, Spanish, Arabic and Moroccan. Ain t it Grand Turner Battle scored his 1,000th career point against Niagara on Dec. 11. The senior point guard became the 12th Buffalo men s basketball player to score 1,000 career points. The last UB player to surpass the 1,000-point plateau was Louis Campbell who scored 1,385 points from Battle currently has 1,293 points - good for seventh all-time in UB history. On the Mark Mark Bortz established a new career high with 32 points against Niagara. His 32 points were the most by a UB player since Mike Martinho scored 44 points against Rochester on Feb. 3, Bortz surpassed his previous career best of 24 points set against Fairleigh Dickinson on Nov. 23. Yassin the Dream Yassin Idbihi scored a career-high 25 points against Marshall on Jan. 27. He surpassed his previous career high of 23 points scored against Northern Illinois in the MAC Tournament Quarterfinals last season. Double Your Pleasure Mark Bortz has recorded two double-doubles on the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Connecticut and 32 points and 13 rebounds against Niagara. Yassin Idbihi registered 13 points and 11 rebounds against Colgate. Battle Named to Preseason Mid-Major All-America Team Turner Battle was selected to the preseason Mid-Major All-America team by collegeinsider. com. Battle is the first UB player to receive the honor. The senior point guard is one of three players from the MAC selected along with Ben Reed from Western Michigan and Keith Triplett from Toledo. Basketb-all in the Family A number UB players have or have had siblings play Division I basketball. Roderick Middleton s brother, Cedrick, is a freshman at Akron. Andrew Atman s brother, Erik, is a junior at Long Beach State. Parnell Smith s brother, Rodney, played at Purdue (99-02) and Mark Bortz s sister, Michelle, played at Detroit (99-03). In addition, Jason Bird s cousin, Derrick, played at Auburn (01-03). Bulls Announce Three Early Signees Head Coach Reggie Witherspoon has announced the signing of three players: Greg Gamble, Eric Moore and Sean Smiley. Gamble, a 6-4, 195 lb. guard, averaged 11.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals for New York powerhouse Niagara Falls, which went 24-3 and lost to Mount Vernon in the state public school championship game. Gamble was a third-team All-Western New York selection following his junior campaign. Moore, a 6-1, 185 lb. point guard, plays for Danny Hurley at perennial power St. Benedict s Preparatory School. He averaged 12 points and five assists per game last season. As a junior, he averaged 18.2 points per game for Morristown-Beard High School and was named to the All- Morris County First Team. Smiley, a 6-2, 165 lb. guard, averaged 15.9 points and 4.9 assists as a junior at McDowell High School in Erie, PA. He is 32 points shy of 1,000 career points and is on pace to break the school s career scoring mark later this season. Smiley was a first-team All-Metro selection as a sophomore and a junior and has helped lead the Trojans to three straight 20-win seasons.

7 REGGIE WITHERSPOON HEAD COACH SIXTH YEAR AT BUFFALO COLLEGIATE RECORD ( AT UB) Reggie Witherspoon enters his sixth season as head coach of the University at Buffalo men s basketball program. A native Buffalonian, Witherspoon was officially named head men s basketball coach at the University at Buffalo on March 10, 2000 after guiding the Bulls through the remainder of the season as the interim head coach. He became the 11th head coach in Bulls basketball history and the third since Buffalo returned to Division I play in the season. Witherspoon was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year and collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Coach of the Year following the season. He guided the Bulls to a overall record and an 11-7 conference mark, their best effort since joining the MAC in Buffalo won 12 of its final 15 games of the season, beating its opponents by an average of 14.2 points. The 12-win improvement from the previous season was the second-best turnaround in the nation in He led UB to its first-ever home playoff game in the opening round of the MAC Tournament and, after defeating Northern Illinois, led the Bulls to Cleveland for the quarterfinal round for the first time in school history. In , Witherspoon guided a very young UB squad to a 5-23 mark. With freshmen and sophomores playing over 80 percent of the minutes, the Bulls proved to be competitive in nearly every game as they lost 13 games by 10 points or less. In , Witherspoon led the Bulls to a mark. The Bulls eight-win improvement from the previous season was the sixth-highest among Division I teams. Witherspoon s biggest win of the season occurred on January 9, 2002 when the Bulls knocked off Kent State, It was the Golden Flashes only loss in the MAC and their last loss before falling to Indiana in the Regional Finals of the NCAA Tournament. The season saw Witherspoon guide the Bulls to a 4-24 record and their second MAC Tournament appearance. However, the record was not reflective of the strides the program made as they dropped 12 regular season games by 10 points or less, the second most in the country to American University s 13. Included in that list were seven of Buffalo s first nine games and four overtime games. During his period as interim coach, which began five games into the season, Witherspoon, 40, tripled the team s win output in the highly-competitive Mid-American Conference from the previous season. Buffalo also saw its first three-game home court winning streak since the season. Witherspoon has 19 years of collegiate and high school coaching experience in Western New York and has enjoyed considerable success during his coaching career. In his two-plus seasons at Erie Community College, he produced a record and, in , earned Region III Division I Coach of the Year honors after leading the Kats to a 24-5 record and a Region III title. In his first season at ECC, Witherspoon led the program to a record and was named Western New York Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, an honor he repeated in the season as well. During his tenure at ECC, Witherspoon produced four Division I players, two All- Americans and one Academic All-American. Prior to his stint at Erie CC, Witherspoon spent 13 years at Sweet Home High School, eight as an assistant and five as head coach. During his five years as head coach, his teams won four straight divisional championships, the first and only time that happened in school history. Off the court, Witherspoon has been extremely involved in community work. He served as Director of Amateur Athletic Events for the Big 4 from and founded, along with Jim Kwitchoff and Joe Corey, a youth development program called Buffalo Team ACE (Athletes Committed to Excellence) in Witherspoon is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Basketball Coaches Association of New York. He is active in Western New York Athletics in many roles, including being a member of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Witherspoon earned his associate s degree from Erie Community College and bachelor s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Empire State College. While at Erie Community College, he played for West Virginia head coach John Beilien. He played for Philadelphia 76er head coach Jim O Brien at Wheeling Jesuit College. Witherspoon resides in East Amherst, NY, with his wife, the former Dawn Taggart, and the couples two daughters, Lydia (11) and Rachel (10). Witherspoon Notes : Head Coach, University at Buffalo (59-104, 5 years) , Interim Year (3-20) , Program on Probation (21-65) 2003-present (35-19) Named MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Bulls to a overall record and 11-7 conference mark in record (7-11 in MAC) in was school s best since joining the MAC in Knocked off 2002 NCAA regional finalist Kent State, Defeated 2001 MAC Tournament finalist Miami, 66-61, in OT. Led Bulls to three Mid-American Conference wins his first year, tripling the previous year s total. Knocked off league-leading Akron, 84-83, at Alumni Arena (1/24/00) : Head Coach, Erie Community College (44-23, 2 years) Finished 24-5 in the season. Led Kats to the Region III title. Ranked as high as 17th nationally. Team finished second in the country in team defense. Named the NJCAA Division I Region III Coach of the Year. Western New York Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in and again in Finished at in and was the Division I Region III Runner-up : Head Coach, Sweet Home High School Took over a program that had three straight losing seasons. Finished first in the team s division four straight years. It was the first time in the school s 39-year history it achieved that accomplishment.

8 #55 BRIAN ANDRE Points...6 at Fairleigh Dickinson (12/22/03) Rebounds... 3 vs. Youngstown St. (12/6/03)/at Kent State (1/19/05) Field Goals... 2 at FDU (12/22/03)/vs. Niagara (12/11/04) 3-Point FG s...none Free Throws... 3 at Miami (2/5/05) Assists... 3 at Canisius (12/18/04) Steals...2 at Kent State (1/19/05) Blocked Shots...1 vs. Western Michigan (1/10/04)/vs. Toledo (1/9/05) Points... 5 at Miami (2/5/05) Rebounds... 3 at Kent State (1/19/05) Field Goals...2 vs. Niagara (12/11/04)/vs. Miami (1/15/05) 3-Point FG s...none Free Throws... 3 at Miami (2/5/05) Assists... 3 at Canisius (12/18/04) Steals...2 at Kent State (1/19/05) Blocked Shots... 1 vs. Toledo (1/9/05) #11 TURNER BATTLE Points...29 vs. Ohio (2/2/05) Rebounds...10 at Marshall (1/17/04) Field Goals...10 at Niagara (12/13/03) 3-Point FG s... 5 vs. Ohio (2/2/05) Free Throws vs. Bowling Green (12/3/03) Assists three times Steals... 5 at Niagara (12/13/03) Blocked Shots seven times Points...29 vs. Ohio (2/2/05) Rebounds...9 vs. FDU (11/23/04)/vs. Marshall (1/27/05) Field Goals... 9 at Kent State (1/19/05)/vs. Kent State (2/15/05) 3-Point FG s... 5 vs. Ohio (2/2/05) Free Throws...10 vs. Ohio (2/2/05) Assists...9 at Central Michigan (1/6/05) Steals... 4 at Connecticut (11/20/04)/vs. Colgate (12/1/04) Blocked Shots three times #1 JASON BIRD Points vs. Akron (3/8/03) Rebounds... 9 at Eastern Michigan (3/3/03) Field Goals...8 vs. Akron (3/8/03) 3-Point FG s five times Free Throws three times Assists three times Steals...4 vs. Kent State (2/25/04) Blocked Shots three times Points at Eastern Michigan (1/29/05) Rebounds...5 at Akron (1/12/05) Field Goals...6 at Eastern Michigan (1/29/05) 3-Point FG s...4 at Eastern Michigan (1/29/05) Free Throws... at Eastern Michigan (1/29/05) Assists...3 at Kent State (1/19/05) Steals...2 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (11/23/04) Blocked Shots... 1 at Elon (12/7/04) #42 MARK BORTZ Points...32 vs. Niagara (12/11/04) Rebounds vs. Marshall (2/7/04) Field Goals...11 vs. Niagara (12/11/04) 3-Point FG s...3 at Detroit (11/27/02) Free Throws...11 vs. Miami (2/6/02) Assists... 5 at Bowling Green (1/2/05) Steals... 4 at Marshall (1/17/04) Blocked Shots...4 at YSU (12/7/02)/vs. Marshall (2/7/04) Points...32 vs. Niagara (12/11/04) Rebounds vs. Niagara (12/11/04) Field Goals vs. Niagara (12/11/04) 3-Point FG s...1 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Free Throws...10 vs. Niagara (12/11/04) Assists... 5 at Bowling Green (1/2/05) Steals... 3 vs. Niagara (12/11/04)/at Miami (2/5/05) Blocked Shots... 3 vs. WMU (12/4/04)/at CMU (1/6/05) #45 YASSIN IDBIHI Points...25 vs. Marshall (1/27/05) Rebounds vs. Ball State (2/12/05) Field Goals...10 vs. Marshall (1/27/05) 3-Point FG s...4 vs. Kent State (2/25/04) Free Throws three times Assists...5 at Western Michigan (2/8/05) Steals...5 at Fresno State (2/19/05) Blocked Shots... 4 vs. Penn State (11/29/03) Points...25 vs. Marshall (1/27/05) Rebounds...12 vs. Ball State (2/12/05) Field Goals vs. Marshall (1/27/05) 3-Point FG s...3 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Free Throws... 6 vs. Niagara (12/11/04) Assists... 5 at Western Michigan (2/8/05) Steals...5 at Fresno State (2/19/05) Blocked Shots...3 at Eastern Michigan (1/29/05) #32 PARNELL SMITH Points...8 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Rebounds... 6 at Marshall (2/23/05) Field Goals...3 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) 3-Point FG s...1 at Western Michigan (2/8/05) Free Throws... 3 at Miami (2/5/05) Assists... 2 at Central Michigan (1/6/05) /at Miami (2/5/05) Steals... 1 at Elon (12/7/04)/at Miami (2/5/05) Blocked Shots four times Points...8 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Rebounds...6 at Marshall (2/23/05) Field Goals... 3 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) 3-Point FG s...none Free Throws... 3 at Miami (2/5/05) Assists... 2 at Central Michigan (1/6/05)/at Miami (2/5/05) Steals... 1 at Elon (12/7/04)/at Miami (2/5/05) Blocked Shots four times #10 CALVIN CAGE Points at Northwestern (12/30/02) Rebounds... 7 at Elon (12/7/04) Field Goals...9 at Northwestern (12/30/02) 3-Point FG s...6 at Northwestern (12/30/02) Free Throws... 6 vs. Akron (3/8/03)/at FDU (12/22/03) Assists...5 vs. Akron (3/8/03) Steals... 5 vs. FDU (11/23/04)/at Central Michigan (1/6/05) Blocked Shots...none Points...23 at Bowling Green (1/2/05) Rebounds...7 at Elon (12/7/04) Field Goals...8 at Bowling Green (1/2/05) 3-Point FG s... 5 vs. Marshall (1/27/05) Free Throws... 4 vs. Toledo (1/9/05)/at Akron (1/12/05) Assists... 4 at Penn State (12/21/04) Steals... 5 vs. FDU (11/23/04)/at Central Michigan (1/6/05) Blocked Shots...none #33 MARIO JORDAN Points...22 at Toledo (1/3/04) Rebounds...9 at Ball State (2/1/04)/at Penn State (12/21/04) Field Goals... 9 at Toledo (1/3/04) 3-Point FG s...3 vs. Ball State (2/15/03) Free Throws...9 vs. Toledo (3/11/04) Assists...5 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Steals three times Blocked Shots three times Points vs. Northern Illinois (1/25/05) Rebounds...9 at Penn State (12/21/04) Field Goals...7 vs. Northern Illinois (1/25/05) 3-Point FG s...2 vs. Northern Illinois (1/25/05) Free Throws... 4 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04)/vs. Toledo (1/9/05) Assists...5 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Steals...4 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Blocked Shots...none #4 DARWIN YOUNG Points... 3 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04)/vs. Ohio (3/3/04) Rebounds...1 vs. Kent State (2/25/04)/vs. WMU (12/4/04) Field Goals... 1 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04)/vs. Ohio (3/3/04) 3-Point FG s... 1 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04)/vs. Ohio (3/3/04) Free Throws...none Assists... 1 vs. Western Michigan (12/4/04) Steals... 1 vs. Ohio (3/3/04)/vs. WMU (12/4/04) Blocked Shots...none Points...3 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Rebounds...none Field Goals...1 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) 3-Point FG s...1 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Free Throws...none Assists... 1 vs. Western Michigan (12/4/04) Steals... 1 vs. Western Michigan (12/4/04) Blocked Shots...none #31 DANIEL GILBERT Points vs. Kent State (2/25/04) Rebounds vs. Miami (2/22/03) Field Goals...8 vs. Kent State (2/25/04) 3-Point FG s... 4 at Ohio (1/14/04)/vs. Kent State (2/25/04) Free Throws three times Assists... 6 vs. Marshall (1/8/03)/at Kent State (2/18/03) Steals eight times Blocked Shots...2 vs. Ball State (2/15/03) Points vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Rebounds...8 at Western Michigan (2/8/05) Field Goals...7 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) 3-Point FG s...2 vs. FDU (11/23/04)/at Eastern Michigan (1/29/05) Free Throws...5 vs. Kent State (2/15/05) Assists four times Steals three times Blocked Shots... 1 vs. Toledo (1/9/05) #22 RODERICK MIDDLETON Points...18 at Central Michigan (1/18/03) Rebounds... 8 vs. Niagara (12/11/04)/at Canisius (12/18/04) Field Goals...7 vs. Toledo (2/25/03) 3-Point FG s... 5 vs. Central Michigan (2/14/04) Free Throws... 8 at Central Michigan (1/18/03) Assists...6 at Northern Illinois (3/10/03) Steals...5 at Eastern Michigan (3/3/03)/at Miami (2/5/05) Blocked Shots eight times Points vs. Miami (1/15/05) Rebounds... 8 vs. Niagara (12/11/04)/at Canisius (12/18/04) Field Goals... 6 at Bowling Green (1/2/05) 3-Point FG s three times Free Throws...5 vs. Miami (1/15/05) Assists five times Steals... 5 at Miami (2/5/05) Blocked Shots three times #3 WALLACE HALL Season/ Points... 3 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04)/at Western Michigan (2/8/05) Rebounds...6 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Field Goals three times 3-Point FG s... 1 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04)/at Western Michigan (2/8/05) Free Throws...4 vs. Colgate (12/1/04) Assists...2 vs. Indiana State (11/27/04) Steals... 3 at Elon (12/7/04) Blocked Shots...none #32 CHRISTIAN SCHMIDT Season/ Points...none Rebounds...none Field Goals...none 3-Point FG s...none Free Throws...none Assists...none Steals...none Blocked Shots...none

9 CONNECTICUT 90, BUFFALO 68 NOV. 20, 2004 * STORRS, CT ATTENDANCE: 10,167 BUFFALO (0-1) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Cage Battle Bird Hall Young Middleton Schmidt Bortz Andre Team 1 TOTALS CONNECTICUT (1-0) Villanueva Brown Boone Williams Anderson Armstrong Thompson Kellogg Gay White Baisch Nelson Team 1 1 TOTALS Buffalo Connecticut STORRS, CT - The Buffalo men s basketball team fell to eighth-ranked Connecticut, 90-68, in the opener to the season on Saturday night at Gampel Pavilion. Connecticut jumped out to an 18-4 lead in the contest and never looked back. However, the Bulls refused to go quietly and continued to battle until the very end. Twice in the second half the Bulls were able to cut the Connecticut advantage to under 20 points. However, the Huskies always had an answer for the Buffalo threat. The difference in the game was the frontcourt play of the Huskies. UConn outrebounded the Bulls, 56-27, thanks in large part to the tenacious play of athletic big men Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva. Boone finished the night with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Villanueva had seven points and eight boards. Both players blocked four shots and as a team the Huskies blocked 12 shots. The Bulls struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 25.8 percent. However, they bounced back to shoot 44.4 percent from the floor in the second half en route to outscoring the Huskies, Outscoring the defending national champions in the second half was one of a number of positives that Buffalo can take away from Saturday night s game. UB had 16 steals and forced 23 turnovers in the contest. The Bulls only turned the ball over 12 times and had 30 points off turnovers compared to only 13 of the Huskies. UB scored three more fast break points and its bench outscored UConn s, Buffalo was led by Turner Battle who had 14 points, four assists and four steals. Roderick Middleton came off the bench to drop 13 points, including three of the Bulls five three-pointers. Mark Bortz recorded a doubledouble with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The defensive charge was led by Daniel Gilbert who tied a career high with five steals - three of which resulted in breakaway dunks. Connecticut guard Rashad Anderson led all scorers with 23 points, including four three pointers. We came in concerned about their ability to run the floor and their ability to rebound the basketball and they had it on full display tonight, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We didn t respond well enough to get it done. I give credit to them and they certainly showed why they won the national championship last year. BUFFALO 87, FDU 84 (OT) NOV. 23, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 2,783 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (1-3) Klaiber Crosariol Timberlake Peterson Trent Harris Murray Cousins Peeples Buch Team 4 TOTALS BUFFALO (1-1) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Cage Middleton Bird Hall Young Battle Bortz TOTALS Fairleigh Dickinson Buffalo BUFFALO, NY Mark Bortz s alley oop dunk off an inbounds pass from Turner Battle, with one second remaining, capped a miraculous 7-0 scoring run in the game s final 46 seconds to tie the contest with Fairleigh Dickinson and send it to overtime. The Bulls outscored the Knights, 13-10, in the extra stanza to win the game, 87-84, at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night. A free throw by Tamien Trent gave FDU a lead with 47 seconds left in the game. Bortz answered with a dunk to cut the lead to with 24 seconds on the clock. After Trent missed a free throw at the other end, Battle hit a jumper to cut the lead to with 13 seconds remaining. After another missed free throw by the Knights, Daniel Gilbert was fouled on a three-point attempt and was awarded three free throws with 3.2 second left. The senior missed the first free throw, made the second and after intentionally missing the third, the ball was knocked out of bounds by an FDU player, setting up the game-tying basket. The Bulls scored the first five points of overtime on a three-pointer by Calvin Cage and a steal and layup by Roderick Middleton to take a lead. Fairleigh Dickinson cut the lead to with 33 seconds left. Bortz capped off a career night by sinking a pair of free throws to give the Bulls an lead with 16 seconds remaining. The Knights had two cracks at tying the game, but missed two three-point attempts as timed expired. Bortz tied a career-high with 24 points and added nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Battle nearly recorded his first career triple-double with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Cage dropped 16 points, including a pair of three-pointers in overtime, and had a career-high five steals. Gilbert and Yassin Idbihi also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Knights shot 50 percent from the floor compared to 46.2 percent for the Bulls and outrebounded Buffalo, However, the Bulls tenacious attacking defense forced 20 FDU turnovers that were converted into 18 points. It was the first overtime game for the Bulls since the season - meaning it was the first overtime game for every player on the roster. Our guys didn t quit - they kept fighting and battling, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. You need to take advantage of every opportunity to get better and hopefully we learned enough tonight to get better. BUFFALO 92, INDIANA STATE 64 NOV. 27, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 8,956 INDIANA STATE (1-2) Daanish Adler Gray Schnitker Moss Moore Evans Booe Ray Trudeau Whitman Yelovich TOTALS BUFFALO (2-1) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Cage Battle Bird Hall Young Middleton Smith Bortz Andre TOTALS Indiana State Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The Buffalo men s basketball team turned in its most dominating all-around performance of the young season en route to a victory over Indiana State at the HSBC Arena on Saturday night. The Bulls were led by Yassin Idbihi who scored a season-high 22 points, including three three-pointers and five rebounds. Daniel Gilbert scored 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Leading, 9-8, with 16:36 left in the first half, the Bulls went on a 17-3 scoring run to take a lead and control of the contest. UB held Indiana State without a field goal for over 12 minutes in the first half. However, the Sycamores did convert 13-of-21 free throws in the first stanza, but still trailed by 25 at the break. It was much of the same in the second half as the Bulls didn t allow the Sycamores to get any closer than 21 points before cruising to the 28-point victory. The 92 points scored by the Bulls were their most since the season when the scored 100 points against Chicago State. The key to the game was turnovers. The Bulls had 16 steals and forced 20 turnovers. UB has now forced at least 20 turnovers in each of its first three games. Conversely, Indiana State didn t have a single steal and the Bulls had a season-low nine turnovers. Buffalo shot 57.1 percent from the floor and drained nine three pointers. The Bulls dominated play inside, outscoring the Sycamores, 48-10, in the paint. Indiana State was held to a season-low 35.3 percent shooting from the field. Turner Battle had 14 points, five assists and three steals. Mario Jordan rebounded nicely from a sluggish start to the season by scoring 12 points and adding four steals and a career-best five assists. Buffalo (2-1) got a key contribution from Parnell Smith. The sophomore forward established new careerhighs with eight points, four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in only seven minutes of action. Wallace Hall came off the bench to lead the Bulls with six rebounds. Indiana State (1-2) was led by Eric Gray and David Moss who each scored 16 points. Moss added a game-high 12 rebounds. It was great to see our guys play with that energy, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. I think our guys knew that we had to renew our passion and our energy at the defensive end of the floor and for rebounding.

10 BUFFALO 74, COLGATE 62 DEC. 1, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 2,739 COLGATE (2-3) Zidar Reed Daniels Roemer Simon Woodhouse Williams Checovich Knight Foss TOTALS BUFFALO (3-1) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Cage Battle Bird Hall Middleton Smith Bortz Team 5 1 TOTALS Colgate Buffalo BUFFALO, NY Five players scored in double-figures to lead the University at Buffalo men s basketball team to a win over Colgate at Alumni Arena on Wednesday night. At 3-1, the Bulls are off to their best start since the season when they also started 3-1. The Bulls led for much of the game, but Colgate shot the ball very well to keep the game close until late. Trailing, 16-15, with 13:28 left in the first half, Buffalo took the lead for good on a jumper by Yassin Idbihi. The sophomore center finished the night with 13 points and tied a career high with 11 rebounds. The Bulls would extend their first-half lead to nine points before settling for a lead at the break. A Jon Simon jumper cut the UB lead to with 14:45 left in the game. However, the Bulls answered with an 11-2 scoring run to take a advantage with 9:58 remaining. Buffalo would hold the double-digit lead for the rest of the game. With 13 points, Turner Battle tied Idbihi for UB s high point honors. Battle added four assists and four steals. Daniel Gilbert tallied 12 points and five steals. Calvin Cage and Mark Bortz notched 11 points apiece. Colgate (2-3) was led by Simon who scored 20 points. Kyle Roemer and Alvin Reed each scored 12 points for the Raiders. For the fourth straight game, the Bulls forced at least 20 turnovers with 21 against the Raiders. However, the Bulls were bitten by the turnover bug themselves as they recorded a season-high 22 turnovers. Buffalo dominated the glass, outrebounding Colgate, The Bulls also scored 36 points in the paint compared to 24 by the Raiders. WESTERN MICHIGAN 70, BUFFALO 53 DEC. 4, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 3,603 WESTERN MICHIGAN (4-2, 1-0 MAC) Rost Reitz Snider Willis Fracalossi Laku Hershberger Hess Bufford devries Bronson Green Paolini Team 6 TOTALS BUFFALO (3-2, 0-1 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Cage Battle Bird Hall Young Middleton Smith Bortz Team 1 TOTALS Western Michigan Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The University at Buffalo men s basketball team dropped its Mid-American Conference-opener to Western Michigan, 70-53, at Alumni Arena on Saturday night. The Bulls struggled through a tough shooting night, shooting 32.8 percent for the floor, en route to their lowest point total of the season. The loss snapped UB s three-game winning streak and eight-game home winning streak. UB (3-2, 0-1 MAC) jumped out to a 5-0 lead compliments of a three-pointer by Calvin Cage and a layup by Daniel Gilbert. However, Western Michigan answered with a 12-0 run to take a 12-5 lead. The Bulls pulled to within with 6:52 left in the half, but went ice cold for the remainder of the first stanza. Buffalo only scored two more points for the rest of the first half and trailed, 37-21, at halftime. For as cold as UB shooters were in the first half, the same couldn t be said for the Broncos. Western Michigan shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and were red-hot from beyond the arc. Levi Rost nailed six of his career-high nine three-pointers in the first half. The senior forward finished the night with a game-high 31 points. The Broncos extended their lead to with 7:42 left in the game. The Bulls finished the game on a 16-4 scoring run, but it wasn t enough to get past the defending MAC champions. Buffalo shot a frigid 4-for-25 from the three-point line. Conversely, Western Michigan shot 10-for-19 from downtown. UB took 14 more shots than the Broncos and pulled down a season-high 19 offensive rebounds. However, the Bulls could only convert the offensive boards into 10 second chance points. Gilbert led the Bulls with 13 points and seven rebounds. Turner Battle was the only other Buffalo player in double-figures with 12 points. Along with Rost, Western Michigan (4-2, 1-0 MAC) had Ben Reed and Brian Snider score in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Western Michigan did whatever it took to win and we didn t, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We missed a lot of open shots and we didn t show the commitment to do whatever it took to win and they did. BUFFALO 70, ELON 63 (OT) DEC. 7, 2004 * ELON, NC ATTENDANCE: 1,036 BUFFALO (4-2) Gilbert Idbihi Hall Battle Middleton Bird Cage Smith Jordan Bortz Team 4 TOTALS ELON (2-6) Harris Wyatt Jordan Rice Harvin Watson Gamble Waters Chalko Team 5 TOTALS Buffalo Elon ELON, NC - The University at Buffalo men s basketball team downed Elon, 70-63, in overtime on Tuesday night at Elon s Alumni Gym. It marked the second time this season that the Bulls have pulled out an overtime victory. It was a homecoming game for Turner Battle whose hometown is just 45 minutes from the Elon campus. The senior point guard didn t disappoint his hometown fans as he scored a season-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Battle was one of five UB players to reach doublefigures in the scoring column. Yassin Idbihi and Mark Bortz each tallied 13 points. Both players were especially assertive in the second half as they scored nine and 11 second-half points, respectively. Daniel Gilbert added 11 points and Calvin Cage notched 10 points. The game featured 13 lead changes and 15 ties with neither team grasping a lead of more than five points through regulation. Trailing by three points with 4:06 remaining, Cage drained a three-pointer to tie the contest, The Bulls pulled ahead, 57-54, with 2:23 left in regulation, but following a turnover, the Phoenix tied the game on a three-pointer by Montell Watson with 1:17 remaining. A three-point attempt by Cage, with two seconds remaining in regulation, rimmed out and the game went to overtime. After trading baskets early in the overtime session, Cage nailed his third three-pointer of the game to give the Bulls a lead with 2:17 remaining. With Buffalo leading, 65-63, Gilbert hit a three-pointer to give the Bulls a five-point advantage. UB played stingy defense the rest of the way to keep the Phoenix off of the scoreboard for the remainder of the overtime. Buffalo dominated the glass, outrebounding Elon, Battle had a game-high eight rebounds and Cage and Gilbert grabbed seven rebounds apiece. Watson led the Phoenix with a game-high 19 points. Scottie Rice added 14 points for Elon. I m pleased that we had enough character to persevere through some difficulties, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We knew that this was not going to be an easy basketball game. We showed a tremendous effort to rebound the basketball and I think that s what really helped us tonight.

11 BUFFALO 95, NIAGARA 92 (2OT) DEC. 11, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 6,009 NIAGARA (5-3) Duffey Mendez Miles Cruz Brooks Mathis Durosier Fisher TOTALS BUFFALO (5-2) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Bortz Andre Team 1 TOTALS Niagara Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The Buffalo men s basketball team defeated Niagara, 95-92, in a double-overtime thriller at Alumni Arena on Saturday night. Mark Bortz was huge for the Bulls with a career-high 32 points, 13 rebounds, two blocked shots and three steals. A free throw by Bortz gave the Bulls a lead with 7:26 remaining in the second half. However, Niagara mounted a 12-2 scoring run to take a lead with one minute remaining in regulation. Mario Jordan was fouled with 1.8 seconds left and made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime. Buffalo (5-2) took a lead in overtime on a threepointer by Calvin Cage and extended its lead to four on a layup by Bortz. However, four straight free throws by Juan Mendez tied the contest, 76-76, with 2:26 left in the first overtime. UB took an lead on a pair of free throws by Bortz with 1:00 left in overtime. David Brooks tied the game with a three-pointer on Niagara s next possession to force a second overtime. The Purple Eagles (5-3) drew first blood in the second overtime on a pair of free throws by Mendez. The Niagara big man finished the night with 33 points, including 19-of-23 from the charity stripe. The Bulls scored four straight points to take an lead with 2:59 left in the period. After Brooks tied the game with a jumper, UB took the lead for good on a putback by Brian Andre. The Purple Eagles cut the lead to with six seconds left. However, Turner Battle calming drained two free throws to give the Bulls a lead with four seconds remaining. Bortz capped off his magical night by stealing the Niagara inbounds pass and dribbling off the remaining time on the clock. With 3:45 left in the second overtime, Battle knocked down a free throw to give him 1,000 career points. It made him the 12th player in UB history to score 1,000 points. The senior point guard finished the night with 13 points, four rebounds and six assists. Cage tied a season high with 16 points, including three three-pointers, in 45 minutes of action. Yassin Idbihi also reached doublefigures with 12 points and five rebounds, but was limited to only 26 minutes because of foul trouble. The Bulls outrebounded the Purple Eagles, 43-40, and had 20 second chance points compared to eight by Niagara. Roderick Middleton grabbed a career-high eight rebounds for the Bulls. Along with Mendez, Niagara got a big performance from Brooks who tallied 23 points. Alvin Cruz and J.R. Duffy added 13 and 10 points, respectively. Bortz s 32 points were the most by a UB player since Mike Martinho scored 44 points against Rochester on Feb. 3, For Buffalo, it was the second straight game and the third of the season that needed extra time to be decided. The Bulls are 3-0 this season in overtime contests. It was a hard-fought game, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. I am proud of the fact that we had people that had to play a lot of minutes because we had people foul out. Things didn t always go our way tonight but we fought through it. BUFFALO 69, CANISIUS 65 DEC. 18, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 2,176 BUFFALO (6-2) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Bortz Andre TOTALS CANISIUS (1-5) Wilson Sargeant Downey Doss Harris Vanderheide Byrd Hanley TOTALS Buffalo Canisius BUFFALO, NY After back-to-back overtime victories, the University at Buffalo men s basketball team pulled out another nail-biter with a victory over Canisius at the Koessler Center on Saturday night. It was the Bulls first-ever win at the Koessler Center. Trailing, 65-64, with 13 seconds remaining, Mario Jordan corralled an offensive rebound, hit an acrobatic lay-up and was fouled. He converted the free throw to give the Bulls a lead. Canisius had a chance to tie the game or win it late in regulation. However, the Griffs inbounds pass was stolen by Turner Battle who dribbled the length of the court and laid the ball in at the buzzer to give the Bulls the four-point victory. Battle s lay-up capped a season-high 20-point effort. The senior point guard tied a career-high with four three-pointers and added five rebounds and four assists. Jordan had his most productive game of the season with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists. Roderick Middleton and Mark Bortz each tallied 11 points. For the second consecutive game, Middleton grabbed a career-high eight rebounds to lead the Bulls. Buffalo took a 10-0 lead to start the game and hit its first six shots. The Bulls led for the entire first half and a three-pointer by Calvin Cage, in the closing seconds of the first stanza, gave the Bulls a lead at halftime. Canisius clawed its way back into the game in the second half. After a Bortz lay-up put the Bulls ahead, 47-33, with 15:28 remaining, Canisius mounted a 19-4 scoring run and a lay-up by Kevin Downey gave the Griffs their first lead of the night, 52-51, with 9:35 left in the game. Downey drained a three-pointer to put Canisius ahead, However, Jason Bird countered with a trey of his own to give the Bulls a lead with 6:54 remaining. The Bulls would continue to lead until a fast break lay-up by Dewitt Doss gave the Golden Griffins a lead with 47 seconds remaining. The Bulls would score the final five points of the game to escape with the victory. Buffalo shot 50 percent from the floor and hit a season-high 11 three-pointers. The Bulls outrebounded Canisius, 34-22, and scored 30 of their points in the paint. Canisius (1-5) was led by Doss and Darnell Wilson who each scored 17 points. I give our guys credit, because we didn t fold, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We kept fighting, battling, rebounding and scrapping. It was a hard-fought game, but I think what helped us was our rebounding edge. With the win, Buffalo improved to 6-2 and is off to its best start since the season. BUFFALO 72, PENN STATE 70 DEC. 21, 2004 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 5,435 BUFFALO (7-2) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Bortz Andre Team 4 TOTALS PENN STATE (5-5) Johnson Claxton Parker Walker Smith Luber Hassell Fellows Morrissey McDougald TOTALS Buffalo Penn State UNIVERSITY PARK, PA The cardiac kids, also known as the Buffalo men s basketball team, won another game in thrilling fashion on Tuesday night as Turner Battle nailed a 10-foot jumper at the buzzer to beat Penn State, 72-70, at the Bryce Jordan Center. It was the Bulls fourth straight win - all four being decided on either the game s final possession or in overtime. Battle s buzzer-beating bucket was only his fifth point on the night as the senior point guard was hampered by foul trouble and only played 18 minutes. In his place played Calvin Cage who scored a season-high 18 points, including four three-pointers, and dished out four assists. Mark Bortz added 15 points and seven rebounds. Yassin Idbihi and Mario Jordan also reached double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Jordan tied a career high and led the Bulls with nine rebounds. Buffalo (7-2) built a seven-point lead midway through the first half, but it took a Roderick Middleton buzzerbeater at the end of the first half to give the Bulls a lead at the break. The Bulls tried to pull away from the Nittany Lions on several occasions in the second half, but Penn State (5-5) refused to go quietly. A three-pointer by Battle with 2:31 left in the game gave the Bulls a lead - their largest of the game. However, the Nittany Lions rattledoff four straight points to cut the lead to with 51 seconds remaining. The lead remained four points until a lay-up by Geary Claxton cut the UB lead to with 16 seconds remaining. Battle was fouled on the ensuing possession and missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. Claxton gathered the rebound and got it ahead to Marlon Smith who took it the rest of the way for a lay-up to tie the contest at 70 with six seconds remaining. Following a Buffalo time out, Battle got the ball at mid court and dribble it to the free throw line where he hit a leaning jump shot for the game winner. A key component to the Buffalo s victory was the play of its bench. The UB bench scored 35 points compared to only six from Penn State s pine. The Bulls pressure defense also recorded eight steals and forced 19 turnovers. Turner s shot was big at the end, but what was really big was the play of the people that came off the bench, Witherspoon said. We didn t play our best game and we are very fortunate to come away with a win. But it allowed us a chance to learn of how important the little things are down the stretch of a basketball game and hopefully that will help us in the future. Buffalo s victory was its first-ever over a team from the Big Ten Conference. The Bulls did beat Penn State one other time, but that was during the season, prior to when it joined the Big Ten.

12 BOWLING GREEN 95, BUFFALO 88 JAN. 2, 2005 * BOWLING GREEN, OH ATTENDANCE: 1,763 BUFFALO (7-3, 0-2 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middeton Bird Hall Cage Smith Bortz TOTALS BOWLING GREEN (7-2, 1-0 MAC) Fitch Reimold Almanson Robinson Wright Floyd Soler Lefeld Eyink Vandermeer TOTALS Buffalo Bowling Green BOWLING GREEN, OH The University at Buffalo men s basketball team had its four-game winning streak snapped by a red-hot Bowling Green squad, 95-88, at Anderson Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons shot a sizzling 65.4 percent from the floor to win the Mid- American Conference showdown. The Bulls, who shot 52.4 percent from the field, were led by Calvin Cage who netted a season-high 23 points, including four of the Bulls season-best 13 three-pointers. Turner Battle and Roderick Middleton each scored 14 points and combined for seven of UB s 10 steals. Battle dished out a season-high eight assists and didn t commit a turnover. Yassin Idbihi also reached double-figures with 11 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. Buffalo, playing its first game since Dec. 21, showed no sign of rust as it shot 60.7 percent from the floor and scored 47 points in the first half. The Bulls went ahead, 31-24, on a jumper by Cage with 8:00 minutes left in the first half. However, the Falcons battled back to tie the contest, 42-42, with 2:56 left in the first half. A Josh Almonson jumper gave Bowling Green a four-point lead with 37 seconds left in the half. Jason Bird drained a three-pointer as time expired in the first half to cut the Falcon lead to at the break. Bowling Green (7-2, 1-0 MAC) extended its lead to six points with 14:15 left in the second half. However, an alley-oop dunk from Battle to Mark Bortz capped an 11-0 Buffalo scoring run to give the Bulls a lead with 12:30 remaining in the contest. Bowling Green s Almonson, who finished with a game-high 26 points, hit a layup to give the Falcons the lead for good, 73-72, with 5:42 remaining. After Bowling Green extended its lead to four points, Cage nailed a trey, with 3:50 left, to cut the lead to one. However, the Falcons went 12-for-14 from the free throw line in the final 1:22 to seal the victory. Buffalo (7-3, 0-2 MAC) outrebounded Bowling Green, However, turnovers told the story of the Bulls demise as they coughed the ball up 23 times. I thought Bowling Green did a terrific job with sustaining energy and drive, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. It was a fast-paced game and it looked like the first team that ran out of gas was going to lose and they didn t run out of gas. BUFFALO 83, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 67 JAN. 6, 2005 * MT. PLEASANT, MI ATTENDANCE: 1,494 BUFFALO (8-3, 1-2 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Young Cage Smith Bortz Team 4 TOTALS CENTRAL MICHIGAN (6-5, 1-2 MAC) Barrett Pantlind Blevins Sevalia Watson Spencer Bowne Nelson Harris Bohnhoff Walker TOTALS Buffalo Central Michigan MT. PLEASANT, MI The University at Buffalo men s basketball team used a 17-0 scoring run at the start of the second half to pull away from Central Michigan and earn its first Mid-American Conference victory of the season, 83-67, at Rose Arena on Thursday night. Turner Battle scored 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second stanza to lead the Bulls to their first-ever win at Rose Arena. Buffalo (8-3, 1-2 MAC) weathered Central Michigan s early hot hand as the Chippewas made seven threepointers in the first half. One of the treys came from Sefton Barrett to give the Chippewas an eight-point lead with 6:01 left in the first half. However, the Bulls mounted a 12-2 scoring run to take a lead with 2:50 left in the first half. Jason Bird hit a jumper with four seconds left in the first half to give the Bulls a halftime lead. Bird proved to be an early spark off the bench, scoring all eight of his points in the first half. It was all Buffalo in the second half as the Bulls held Central Michigan to 22 percent shooting in the half. Trailing, 43-41, early in the second half, the Bulls got seven straight points from Daniel Gilbert to go ahead, Central Michigan would remain stuck on 43 points for nearly six minutes and the Bulls were able to take a lead with 12:50 remaining. The Bulls would hold the double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. Along with Battle, who also matched a career high with nine assists, the Bulls had three other players reach double-figures in the scoring column. Calvin Cage netted 15 points, including three three-pointers, and had five steals. Gilbert and Yassin Idbihi each scored 12 points. Idbihi added a game-high eight rebounds. The Bulls shot 52.8 percent from the floor, marking the third time in the last four games that UB has shot 50 percent or better from the field. Central Michigan (6-5, 1-2 MAC) shot an icy 30.3 percent from the floor and after hitting seven first-half triples, managed only four three-pointers in the second half. Central Michigan, who was handed its first home loss of the season, was led by Kevin Nelson who scored 20 points, including six three-pointers. We didn t want them to be hot from three and get to the basket, because then you are going to have a hard time getting stops, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. I thought as the game wore on it was more and more difficult for them to get to the basket and get lay-ups and that enabled us to close out tighter on their three-point shooters and consequently their shooting percentage went down. BUFFALO 56, TOLEDO 54 JAN. 9, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 2,327 TOLEDO (5-7, 1-2 MAC) Villegas Currie Pinson Ingram Triplett Charalambous Russell Payne Howell Milson Valencia Team 4 TOTALS BUFFALO (9-3, 2-2 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Smith Bortz Andre Team 8 TOTALS Toledo Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The University at Buffalo men s basketball team erased a 15-point second-half deficit to defeat Toledo, 56-54, at Alumni Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls (9-3, 2-2 MAC) persevered through a tough shooting day to edge the Rockets for the first time in school history. Neither team shot well from the floor as Buffalo shot 38.9 percent and Toledo shot 32.8 percent. The Bulls were led by Mario Jordan who tallied a season-high 14 points and added five rebounds. Turner Battle was the only other UB player to reach doublefigures in the scoring column with 11 points and added seven assists and three steals. All 11 of Battle s points came in the second half. Toledo (5-7, 1-2 MAC), the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference, went ahead, 48-33, with 11:10 left in the regulation. However, the Bulls mounted a frantic 20-0 scoring run, sparked by an offensive rebound and putback by Jason Bird and capped by a Daniel Gilbert layup to take a lead with 3:56 left in the game. Jordan hit a layup to give UB a lead with 2:20 remaining. However, the Rockets scored four unanswered points to cut the Buffalo lead to two with one minute left. Toledo had several cracks to tie or win the game in the waning moments, but Sammy Villegas, Allen Pinson and Keith Triplett each missed a shot in the final seconds to allow the Bulls to pull out the victory. The Bulls scored a season-low 19 points in the first half and trailed by seven at the break. However, the Rockets didn t fare much better as they scored 26 first-half points on 27 percent shooting. Buffalo outrebounded Toledo, 44-40, and scored 32 points in the paint compared 22 for Toledo. Mark Bortz grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and Yassin Idbihi added eight. The Bulls got a spark from Brian Andre who had two points, a rebound and a blocked shot in only six minutes off the bench in the second half. Toledo was led by Triplett who scored 24 points and Anton Currie who added 11. I thought we were pretty good in our halfcourt defense and it gave us a chance to stay in the game, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. I thought early on we didn t make enough passes to really stimulate movement and force them to guard us off the ball, but after we made some passes we got our rhythm and started to make some shots. The 56 points scored by Buffalo was its lowest point total in a victory since Nov. 24, 1998 when it scored 49 points in a win over Canisius.

13 AKRON 75, BUFFALO 59 JAN. 12, 2005 * AKRON, OH ATTENDANCE: 3,356 BUFFALO (9-4, 2-3 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Smith Bortz Andre Team 6 TOTALS AKRON (8-5, 2-3 MAC) Middleton Joyce Peterson Travis Futch McFadden Walther Collins Preston Meyers TOTALS Buffalo Akron AKRON, OH For the second straight game, the University at Buffalo men s basketball team struggled through a poor shooting night. However, this time the Bulls were unable to overcome it as they lost to Akron, 75-59, at Rhodes Arena on Wednesday night. The Bulls shot only 33.3 percent from the floor and were held to under 60 points for the second straight game. Buffalo (9-4, 2-3 MAC) jumped out to a lead with 11:02 left in the first half. However, Akron (8-5, 2-3 MAC) went on an 11-2 scoring run to take a lead with 7:15 left in the half. UB would score only four more points in the first stanza and Akron took a lead into the lockerroom at halftime. The Bulls held the Zips to 28.6 percent shooting in the second half, but were unable to make much headway. UB cut the lead to on a layup by Calvin Cage with 8:02 left in the game, but watched as the Akron lead quickly swelled to 17 points. The Bulls were able to cut the lead to 12 points, again, on a Jason Bird free throw with 3:58 remaining. However, on the Zips ensuing possession, Romeo Travis scored a conventional three-point play to put the Zips back up by 15 points and the Bulls wouldn t threaten again. Travis finished the game with 21 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots. Mark Bortz and Yassin Idbihi accounted for nearly half of the Bulls points. Bortz finished with 13 points and Idbihi had 12 points. The Bulls outrebounded the Zips, 48-36, with Idbihi leading the way with nine boards. Along with Travis, Akron was led by Darryl Peterson who scored 20 points. The Zips shot 42.1 percent from the field and drained 7-of-18 three-point attempts. The Bulls shot a dismal 2-for-16 from beyond the arc. The loss snapped the Bulls three-game winning streak over Akron. We just didn t respond tonight, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. It s one thing to play bad and it s another to accept it. You can t keep digging yourself into a hole and expect to come back every time. BUFFALO 67, MIAMI 56 JAN. 15, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 4,275 MIAMI (8-5, 3-2 MAC) Peavy Horace St. Clair Mason Hatcher Penno Hausfeld Vandersluis Schenke Pollitz Team 4 TOTALS BUFFALO (10-4, 3-3 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Smith Bortz Andre Team 1 TOTALS Miami Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The University at Buffalo men s basketball team utilized one of its finest defensive efforts of the season to defeat division leader Miami (OH), 67-56, at Alumni Arena on Saturday night. Roderick Middleton led the Bulls with a season-best 17 points and added four rebounds and three assists. Buffalo (10-4, 3-3 MAC) kept Miami (8-5, 3-2 MAC) off of the scoreboard for the first 10:07 of the contest. However, the Bulls struggled a bit offensively themselves early on as they only held a 7-2 lead with 9:52 remaining in the first half. The Bulls would lead by as many as eight points before settling for a halftime lead. The Bulls scored five straight points to open the second half, capped by a Turner Battle layup, to take a lead with 18:20 remaining. However, the RedHawks countered with a 7-0 scoring run to cut the UB lead to A three-pointer by Jason Bird put the Bulls back up by eight points with 13:23 left in the game. Miami fought back to knot the contest at 43 with 8:40 remaining. The lead would see-saw for the next few minutes until Battle scored five straight points to put the Bulls ahead, 58-53, with 3:07 left in the game. After Miami s William Hatcher hit a three-pointer to cut the UB lead to 58-56, the Bulls closed the game on a 9-0 scoring run. Six of the nine points came from Middleton. Battle finished with 16 points and Calvin Cage added nine. All of Cage s points came in the second half, including a pair of three-pointers. An energetic Mario Jordan chipped in with eight points, eight rebounds and three steals. Miami was led by Danny Horace who scored 15 points. Hatcher and Chet Mason each scored 14 points. Mason added 14 of the RedHawks 40 rebounds. After shooting 38.5 percent in the first half, the Bulls rebounded to shoot a sizzling 61.9 percent in the second half. In addition, Buffalo had only three second-half turnovers. I thought we did a good job of maintaining our poise against a team that doesn t back down, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. Tonight we were prepared for a 12-round fight. We were going to take it one possession at a time, keep getting stops for as long as we could get them and believe in the movement that we had on offense. KENT STATE 85, BUFFALO 80 JAN. 19, 2005 * KENT, OH ATTENDANCE: 3,427 BUFFALO (10-5, 3-4 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Bortz Andre Team 6 TOTALS KENT STATE (12-6, 4-3 MAC) Cutley Scott Warzynski Edwin Haynes Crenshaw Youngblood Gates Team 5 TOTALS Buffalo Kent State KENT, OH The University at Buffalo men s basketball team dropped an overtime decision to Kent State at the MAC Center on Wednesday night spoiling some late-game heroics by Turner Battle. The senior point guard drained a three-pointer with under a second to play in regulation to tie Kent State and send the game into overtime. Battle scored a season-high 25 points to lead all scorers. A layup by Daniel Gilbert gave the Bulls a lead with 5:07 left in the first half. However, Kent State rattled off 12 straight points to take a lead with 2:52 remaining in the first stanza. A layup by Battle and a three-pointer by Calvin Cage helped regain the lead for the Bulls late in the half. However, a jumper by DeAndre Haynes gave Kent State a lead at the break. Buffalo (10-5, 3-4 MAC) scored the first 11 points of the second half, eight of which came from Mario Jordan, to take a lead with 14:56 remaining. The Bulls would hold the 10-point advantage with 10:10 left in the game. The Golden Flashes went on a 9-0 scoring run, in a span of 1:45, to quickly cut the Buffalo lead to with 8:25 remaining. A three-pointer by Jay Youngblood gave Kent State its first lead of the second half at with 3:54 remaining. Cage responded with his fourth threepointer of the game on the Bulls next possession to give UB a advantage. A pair of free throws by Kevin Warsynski gave the Golden Flashes a lead with seven seconds remaining. However, Battle banked home a three-pointer from the top of the key with 0.6 seconds remaining to tie the contest and send it into overtime. In the extra session, the Bulls took a lead on a jumper by Yassin Idbihi with 4:06 left. Following three straight points by Kent State, Idbihi would knot the contest at 76 with a pair of free throws with 2:40 remaining. However, a Warsynski layup would give the Golden Flashes the lead for good and they held on for the fivepoint victory. Battle was one of four Bulls to finish the night in double-figures. Cage tallied 14 points, Idbihi added 13 and Jordan scored 10 points. Mark Bortz led UB with seven rebounds. The Bulls shot 51.8 percent from the field for the game, including a sizzling 63.6 percent in the second half. Kent State shot 41.5 percent from the floor, but hit 22-of-37 free throws. Buffalo converted 14-of-20 from the charity stripe. Kent State (12-6, 4-3 MAC) had six players score in double-digits led by Jason Edwin who netted 18 points. The Golden Flashes won the battle of the boards as they outrebounded Buffalo, 38-37, including 15 offensive boards compared to only six for the Bulls. When you come into a situation like this and you don t have much margin for error, you ve got to do everything right, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. From the opening tip until the end I thought we had no margin for error. It was the Bulls fourth overtime game of the season and their first loss.

14 BUFFALO 86, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 80 JAN. 25, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 2,526 NORTHERN ILLINOIS (7-10, 3-6 MAC) Paulson Peterson Hughes Maestranzi Sims Pancratz McKinney Byrd McKenzie TOTALS BUFFALO (11-5, 4-4 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Bortz Andre Team 6 TOTALS Northern Illinois Buffalo BUFFALO, NY Five players scored in double-figures for the University at Buffalo men s basketball team in an win over Northern Illinois at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night. Mario Jordan led the way with a season-high 19 points as the Bulls defeated the Huskies for the third straight time. Buffalo (11-5, 4-4 MAC) jumped out to a 10-2 advantage and never relinquished the lead. The Bulls extended their lead to 26-9 on a three-pointer by Jordan with 11:56 left in the first half. However, Northern Illinois, the Mid-American Conference s best three-point shooting team, got hot from beyond the arc and outscored the Bulls, 22-10, over the next 5:31 to cut the UB advantage to However, thanks to seven straight points by Yassin Idbihi, the Bulls were able to extend their lead to eight points. Buffalo held a advantage at the half. Buffalo opened the second half on an 8-2 scoring run to establish a lead with 17:31 remaining. A Calvin Cage three-pointer gave the Bulls a lead with 12:44 left in the contest. However, the Huskies refused to go quietly as they rattled off 12 unanswered points to cut the lead to with 8:09 remaining. UB answered with five straight points, capped by a Roderick Middleton steal and layup, to regain a 10-point advantage and put the game on ice. The Bulls shot 51.7 percent from the floor and outrebounded Northern Illinois, Turner Battle netted 16 points and added eight assists. Battle s eighth assist gave him the modern era (since ) record for career assists with 392. An aggressive Idbihi finished with 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Middleton and Mark Bortz also reached double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Northern Illinois (7-10, 3-6 MAC) was led by Mike McKinney who scored 19 points. Todd Peterson, who scored 16 points on four three-pointers in the first half, was shut down in the second half as he scored only two second-half points to finish with 18 points on the night. The Huskies shot 52.9 percent from the field for the game, including a sizzling 62.5 percent in the first stanza. Buffalo did a good job defensively as it had nine steals and forced 16 turnovers. Daniel Gilbert led the Bulls with four pilfers. UB was able to score 27 points off of Northern Illinois turnovers. It was a game of runs, they made a few and we made a few of our own, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. I thought that we established ourselves inside pretty well early on and I think we are getting there, we just have to keep working. BUFFALO 78, MARSHALL 65 JAN. 27, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 3,114 MARSHALL (3-14, 0-8 MAC) Anderson Patton Hamilton Dawn Whitted Zimmerman Bunch Miles Wohlleb Ward Okafor TOTALS BUFFALO (12-5, 5-4 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Atman Bortz Andre Team 1 TOTALS Marshall Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The University at Buffalo men s basketball team withstood a hot-shooting Marshall squad to earn a victory at Alumni Arena on Thursday night. The Thundering Herd drained 10 three-pointers in the first 30 minutes of the game. However, Buffalo (12-5, 5-4 MAC) put the clamps on defensively and kept Marshall off of the scoreboard for eight minutes late in the second half to erase a seven-point deficit and pull away for the 13-point victory. Yassin Idbihi, Turner Battle and Calvin Cage combined to score 63 of the Bulls 78 points. Idbihi scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Battle added 20 points and pulled down a game-high nine boards. Cage came off the bench to score 18 points, including a season-high five three-pointers. Though winless in the Mid-American Conference, Marshall (3-14, 0-8) played well and led for much of the game. A.W. Hamilton drained his third of Marshall s seven first-half three-pointers in the closing seconds of the opening stanza to give the Herd a lead at the break. Marshall would extend its lead to seven points with 13:57 left in the game. However, when Mark Bortz slammed home an alley-oop pass from Jason Bird to cut the Marshall lead to with 11:28 remaining, it seemed to ignite the fans and players alike. Seemingly, undaunted by the play, Marshall extended its leads to with 9:03 left in the contest. However, Cage s fifth three-pointer of the game finally put the Bulls ahead, 61-58, and was part of a 17-0 scoring run that helped the Bulls pull away for the victory. While the Thundering Herd played a zone defense for most of the night, the Bulls were still able to work the ball inside for 40 of their 78 points. UB also outrebounded Marshall, 36-25, and scored 17 second chance points. Buffalo did a great job of taking care of the basketball as it had only nine turnovers in the game. It was the Bulls lowest turnover total since Nov. 27 when they also had nine turnovers against Indiana State. Marshall was led by Joe Miles who scored 14 points. Hamilton and Ronny Dawn each scored 13 points and drained three three-pointers apiece. It was a real challenge for us to get out on their three-point shooters, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We could score, but we couldn t get stops early on, so we went to a zone and I think it helped us because we rebounded out of it. BUFFALO 80, EASTERN MICHIGAN 68 JAN. 29, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 2,893 BUFFALO (13-5, 6-4 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Young Cage Atman Smith Onyenucheya Bortz Andre Team 5 TOTALS EASTERN MICHIGAN (9-9, 3-6 MAC) Jackson Austin Bowler Ross McElhinny Harris Cashen Garrett Vansolkema Redder TOTALS Buffalo Eastern Michigan YPSILANTI, MI Jason Bird loves playing at Eastern Michigan. The senior guard, who grew up less than a mile from the Convocation Center, tied a career-high with 20 points to lead the University at Buffalo men s basketball team to an win over Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon. It was the Bulls third straight win over a fiveday span. Bird s first of four three-pointers gave the Bulls a 16-7 lead with 13:52 left in the first half. Buffalo (13-5, 6-4 MAC) seemed to be in cruise control until getting into early foul trouble. The Bulls were whistled for 15 first-half fouls, forcing head coach Reggie Witherspoon to utilize 12 different players in the opening stanza. Eastern Michigan (9-9, 3-6 MAC) capitalized by converting 14-of-15 first-half free throws to take a lead with 2:53 left in the first half. UB closed the half on an 8-0 scoring run to trail, 36-34, at the half. The second half belonged to Buffalo. A pair of free throws by Mario Jordan gave the Bulls the lead for good, 42-40, at the 17:20 mark. Back-to-back three-pointers Bird and Daniel Gilbert extended the UB advantage to with 15:08 remaining. A triple by Calvin Cage gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the game, 79-54, with 4:45 left in the game. Along with Bird, Turner Battle was the only other UB player to score in double-figures. The senior point guard finished with 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds and five assists. Cage, Jordan and Roderick Middleton all scored nine points and Gilbert and Mark Bortz each chipped in with eight points. The day, however, belonged to Bird whose 20 points easily eclipsed his previous season high of eight points. Bird shot 6-of-9 from the floor, including four threepointers and a pair of acrobatic layups. In four games at Eastern Michigan over his career, Bird averaged 14.5 points. Eastern Michigan was led by John Bowler who scored 19 points and Markus Austin who added 17. It was the Eagles fifth-straight loss. The Bulls shot 51 percent from the floor and knocked down nine three-pointers. UB held Eastern Michigan to 36.8 percent shooting from the field. The Bulls also outrebounded the Eagles, Anytime you can get a road win it s good because they are so difficult to come by in this conference, Witherspoon said. For our guys to reach deep inside themselves and come out with this one is a phenomenal testament to their character.

15 OHIO 92, BUFFALO 90 FEB. 2, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 3,416 OHIO (11-7, 6-4 MAC) Harbut Williams Green Troutman Fears Davis Gladney Halbert McGowen TOTALS BUFFALO (13-6, 6-5 MAC) Gilbert Jordan Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Bortz TOTALS Ohio Buffalo BUFFALO, NY Despite a career-high 29 points from Turner Battle, the Buffalo men s basketball team couldn t overcome an energetic Ohio squad and fell to the Bobcats, 92-90, at Alumni Arena on Wednesday night. The loss snapped the Bulls three-game winning streak and five-game home winning streak. Ohio (11-7, 6-4 MAC) jumped out to a quick 16-7 lead just four minutes into the contest. The Bulls (13-6, 6-5 MAC) answered with a 10-2 scoring run, capped by a Daniel Gilbert layup, to cut the Ohio lead to There were 11 lead changes in the final 10 minutes of the half and the game was knotted at 41 at the break. The game remained tight in the second half until a 10-0 scoring run gave the Bobcats an lead with 5:19 remaining. Ohio held an advantage with 1:39 left in the contest. Battle drained his career-best fifth three-pointer to cut the Ohio lead to with 1:11 remaining. After each team made a pair of free throws, a free throw by Battle cut the lead to four points with 29 seconds remaining. A free throw by Terren Harbut gave the Bobcats a advantage with 13 seconds left. Calvin Cage knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to cut the Ohio lead to two points with six seconds remaining. After being fouled on the ensuing possession, Harbut missed a pair of free throws to give life to the Bulls. However, after gathering the rebound, Battle dribbled the length of the floor, but couldn t get a shot off before time expired. Ohio shot 54.4 percent from the floor and was able to work the ball inside scoring 40 points in the paint. The Bobcats also edged out the Bulls on the boards, Ohio constantly pressured UB ball handlers and forced 16 turnovers on 13 steals. The Bulls shot 50 percent from the floor and also forced 16 turnovers. Buffalo struggled from the free throw line, especially in the second half, shooting 22-for-33 from the charity stripe. The Bulls missed nine free throws in the second stanza. Jason Bird scored 15 points to reach double-figures for the second straight game. Gilbert also reached double-digits with 12 points. Mark Bortz grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points. Ohio had five players score in double-figures led by Sonny Troutman with 21. Leon Williams notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. They were better than we were tonight and I give them credit, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We had trouble getting stops, we had trouble with them off the dribble and they debilitated every part of our game. MIAMI 77, BUFFALO 74 (OT) FEB. 5, 2005 * OXFORD, OH ATTENDANCE: 4,327 BUFFALO (13-7, 6-6 MAC) Gilbert Smith Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Jordan Bortz Andre TOTALS MIAMI (14-5, 9-2 MAC) Peavy Horace St. Clair Mason Hatcher Penno Troyer VanderSluis Schenke Pollitz Team 8 TOTALS Buffalo Miami BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo men s basketball team suffered its second straight heartbreaking defeat on Saturday afternoon, losing to Miami (OH), 77-74, in overtime at Millett Hall. The Bulls squandered a 12-point lead in the final 3:26 of regulation allowing the Red- Hawks to force overtime. Buffalo (13-7, 6-6 MAC) played some of its best basketball of the season through the first 36 minutes of the game, building a second-half lead as big as 17 points. However, Miami (14-5, 9-2 MAC) chipped away and a three-pointer by William Hatcher cut the UB lead to with 32 seconds remaining. Roderick Middleton made a pair of free throws to extend the Bulls lead to with 25 seconds left. On the RedHawks ensuing possession, Chet Mason grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled. After he missed both free throws, the Bulls were unable to secure the rebound and Miami was awarded the ball under the basket with five seconds left. Hatcher hit a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game and force overtime. In overtime, the Bulls briefly led, 69-68, on a jumper by Mark Bortz. Miami scored five unanswered points to take a four-point lead, its largest of the game. Calvin Cage hit his third three-pointer of the afternoon to cut the Miami lead to with 12 seconds remaining. Danny Horace hit two free throws to give the RedHawks a lead with 10 seconds remaining. Turner Battle had a chance to tie the game, but his three-point attempt at the buzzer rimmed out. The key to the game was rebounding. The Bulls were outrebounded Miami grabbed 19 offensive boards and scored 17 second chance points. Buffalo featured a very balanced scoring attack as 10 different Bulls scored. Bortz led the Bulls with 16 points and seven rebounds. Cage was the only other UB player to reach double-digits with 13 points. Parnell Smith made his first career start and played well. The sophomore forward had seven points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes of action. The Bulls bench outscored Miami s, Horace led Miami with 25 points and seven rebounds. Hatcher finished with 23 points and shot 5-for-6 from beyond the arc. It s disappointing because the team played so well for so long, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We just got tentative, both offensively and defensively, and couldn t hold on. BUFFALO 85 WESTERN MICHIGAN 79 FEB. 8, 2005 * KALAMAZOO, MI ATTENDANCE: 2,768 BUFFALO (14-7, 7-6 MAC) Gilbert Smith Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Jordan Bortz Andre Team 5 TOTALS WESTERN MICHIGAN (15-8, 8-5 MAC) Rost Reitz Snider Willis Reed Laku Hershberger Hess Bufford de Vries Bronson Team 12 TOTALS Buffalo Western Michigan KALAMAZOO, MI The University at Buffalo men s basketball team defeated Western Michigan, 85-79, on Tuesday night to earn its first-ever victory at University Arena. Four Bulls scored in double-figures as they handed the Broncos only their second home loss in over two years. Buffalo (14-7, 8-7 MAC) fell behind, 9-2, but rattled off seven straight points, capped by a Jason Bird threepointer, to tie the contest at nine. The lead would change hands several times in the first half before Western Michigan took a five-point lead with 1:36 left in the opening stanza. The Bulls closed the half on a 7-2 scoring run, capped by a Turner Battle three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Bulls a lead at the break. Buffalo opened the second half on an 8-0 run to establish a lead with 16:24 remaining. The Bulls extended their lead to 13 points on a three-pointer by Parnell Smith with 5:15 remaining. Western Michigan (15-8, 8-5 MAC) managed to cut the lead to five points late in the game, but the Bulls hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for the six-point victory. Buffalo held the Broncos to 35.6 percent shooting from the floor and 28 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Western Michigan did manage to shoot 30-for-37 from the free throw line as the Bulls were whistled for 31 personal fouls. The Bulls were led by Battle who had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. Bird and Yassin Idbihi added 11 points apiece. Daniel Gilbert added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds - six of which were of the offensive variety. Western Michigan was led by Levi Rost who scored a career-high 35 points, including six three-pointers. Ben Reed, the leading scorer in the MAC, added 15 points, but was held to 3-of-17 shooting from the floor. Buffalo outrebounded the MAC s best rebounding team, The Bulls also shot the ball well from outside, shooting 13-for-27 from beyond the arc. I thought it was big for our guys that we were able to persevere throughout the game, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. There were things that didn t go our way, but we kept battling and that s really important on the road.

16 BUFFALO 67 BALL STATE 58 FEB. 12, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 5,989 BALL STATE (12-9, 7-6 MAC) Mills Chapman Howland Stovall Trammell Yates McCollom Bennett Kent TOTALS BUFFALO (15-7, 8-6 MAC) Gilbert Smith Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Hall Cage Jordan Bortz Andre TOTALS Ball State Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The University at Buffalo and its men s basketball team got to show off in front of a national audience for the first time in school history on Saturday afternoon. The Bulls made the most of the opportunity, downing Ball State, 67-58, on ESPN2, in front of 5,989 fans - the sixth largest crowd in Alumni Arena history. Four Bulls scored in double-digits, led by Turner Battle who netted 14 points and added seven rebounds and four assists. Mark Bortz added 13 points and Calvin Cage and Mario Jordan chipped in with 10 points apiece. Buffalo (15-7, 8-6 MAC) got off to a great start as it took a 17-6 lead with 12:11 left in the first half. However, the Cardinals closed the half on a 24-9 scoring run to take a lead at the break. Turnovers hurt the Bulls in the first half as they coughed up the ball 11 times in the opening stanza. Ball State (12-9, 7-6 MAC) extended its lead to with 16:18 remaining. The Bulls battled back and an alley-oop dunk from Battle to Bortz tied the contest at 48 with 10:07 left in the game. After Yassin Idbihi gathered one of his game-high 12 rebounds, he laid the ball back in to give the Bulls the lead for good, 50-48, with 9:40 remaining. A layup by Peyton Stovall cut the UB lead to with 3:12 left in the game. However, those would be the last points scored by the Cardinals as the Bulls finished the game on a 8-0 run. Cage and Idbihi sparked the Bulls second-half comeback. Cage (10 points) and Idbihi (8 points) scored all of their points in the second stanza. In addition, Buffalo did a much better job of taking care of the basketball in the second half with only four second-half turnovers. UB dominated the glass, outrebounding Ball State, Ball State struggled from the field, shooting only 35.4 percent, including 5-for-22 from beyond the arc. Stovall scored a game-high 17 points to pace the Cardinals. I thought our student section did a great job representing the University and providing us with a great deal of energy because we needed it all, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We got the ball inside and forced them to deal with our size and I think that helped us get open shots from the perimeter, too. BUFFALO 77 KENT STATE 66 FEB. 15, 2005 * BUFFALO, NY ATTENDANCE: 4,053 KENT STATE (16-9, 8-6 MAC) Cutley Warzynski Edwin Haynes Gates Gerwig Crenshaw Youngblood Johnson Scott TOTALS BUFFALO (16-7, 9-6 MAC) Gilbert Smith Idbihi Battle Middleton Bird Cage Jordan Bortz Andre Team 0 TOTALS Kent State Buffalo BUFFALO, NY The University at Buffalo men s basketball team erased a nine-point halftime deficit to prevail, 77-66, over Kent State at Alumni Arena on Tuesday night. It marked the third time in the last four years that the Bulls defeated the Golden Flashes at Alumni Arena. The Bulls got off to a sluggish start and fell behind by as many as 11 points in the first half. While most of the UB players struggled offensively in the first stanza, Turner Battle stepped up his game and scored 18 of the Bulls 34 first-half points. However, UB trailed at the break. Buffalo (16-7, 9-6 MAC) outscored Kent State, 15-5, to open the second half, capped by a Calvin Cage three-pointer, to take a lead with 12:59 remaining. The lead would see-saw until a half-court pass from Battle found Mario Jordan alone under the basket for a layup to give the Bulls the lead for good at with 4:47 remaining. Following a Kent State turnover, Yassin Idbihi drained a three-pointer from the top of the key to extend the UB lead to with 3:46 left. The Bulls shot 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final three minutes to ice the game. Battle finished the night with a game-high 22 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Mark Bortz added 13 points and Cage and Daniel Gilbert each tallied 12 points. All of Cage s points came in the second half thanks in part to three three-pointers. Both teams shot the ball well from the floor as UB shot 57.4 percent and Kent State shot 54.0 percent. However, the Bulls sizzling 72.2 percent (13-for-18) shooting in the second half was the difference in the game. Kent State (16-9, 8-6 MAC) was led by Jay Youngblood who scored 15 points. Kevin Warzynski added 14 points. UB scored 25 of its points off of 19 Kent State turnovers. Buffalo outrebounded the Golden Flashes, At the beginning, we were playing like it was the first round of a fight and we were feeling our way out and they were going for a knockout in the first round, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. We needed to be aggressive and I thought we couldn t even access what we wanted to do until we started playing as hard as we could. BUFFALO 52, FRESNO STATE 49 FEB. 19, 2005 * FRESNO, CA ATTENDANCE: 11,813 BUFFALO (17-7) Gilbert Smith Idbihi Bird Battle Hall Cage Middleton Jordan Bortz Andre TOTALS FRESNO STATE (14-10) Berry Al-Sayyad Bell Morris O Neil Ross Bouldin Marlow Hernandez White Coleman TOTALS Buffalo Fresno State FRESNO, CA It wasn t pretty, but the University at Buffalo men s basketball team outlasted Fresno State, 52-49, in an ESPN Bracket Buster matchup at the Safe Mart Center on Saturday night. With the victory, the Bulls (17-7) matched their win total of last season. Buffalo struggled offensively, shooting just 26.9 percent from the floor and was outrebounded, However, the Bulls played their patented hard-nosed defense to force 24 turnovers on 15 steals. Fresno State (14-10) jumped out to an 18-8 lead with 11:04 remaining in the first half. The Bulls answered by going on an 11-0 scoring run, capped by a jumper by Roderick Middleton, to take a lead with 7:00 remaining in the first half. After tying the contest at 27, Fresno State closed the half by hitting consecutive threepointers to take a lead at the break. The Bulls battled back to tie the contest, 42-42, on a jumper by Yassin Idbihi with 10:17 remaining. After the teams traded leads, a three-pointer by Middleton gave the Bulls their biggest lead of the game, 49-45, with 4:26 left. However, the Bulldogs came back to tie the contest at 49 with 1:43 remaining. The Bulls would score the final three points of the game courtesy of free throws by Turner Battle. A half-court prayer by Fresno State s Dwight O Neil at the buzzer wasn t answered. Buffalo was led by Idbihi who had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five steals. Middleton added 11 points and his block of a dunk attempt by O Neil sparked the Bulls first-half comeback. Battle was hampered with foul trouble and played only 21 minutes. He finished with six points. Daniel Gilbert grabbed seven rebounds and tied a career high with five steals. Fresno State, which was held to 16 second-half points, was led by O Neil who scored a game-high 15 points. Mustafa Al-Sayyad had nine points, nine rebounds and a school record 11 blocked shots. Buffalo matched a season-low with only nine turnovers, including only three in the second half. With the travel and everything, it looked like we were really tired and dragging a little bit, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. You want your guys to understand that there is more than one way to win a game, but you need to be able to win games when they are low scoring. It marks the second straight year that the Bulls have been victorious on Bracket Buster Saturday. Last year, the Bulls topped Indiana State,

17 BUFFALO 68 MARSHALL 55 FEB. 23, 2005 * HUNTINGTON, WV ATTENDANCE: 3,642 BUFFALO (18-7, 10-6 MAC) Gilbert Smith Idbihi Bird Battle Hall Cage Middleton Jordan Bortz Andre Team 1 TOTALS MARSHALL (5-19, 2-13 MAC) Anderson Patton Hamilton Dawn Whitted Lamb Zimmerman Bunch Miles Wohlleb Carter Ward Okafor Team 1 TOTALS Buffalo Marshall HUNTINGTON, WV The University at Buffalo men s basketball team led wire-to-wire in a victory over Marshall at the Cam Henderson Center on Wednesday night. It was the Bulls 18th win of the season - tying the mark for most wins in the Division I era. Buffalo (18-7, 10-6 MAC) hit its first five shots and jumped out to a 12-4 lead. Turner Battle sparked the Bulls early scoring 10 of his game-high 21 points in the first stanza. A jumper by Mark Bortz gave the Bulls a lead with 8:32 left in the first half. Marshall charged back to cut the lead to with 2:44 left in the half. However, UB closed the half on a 5-0 scoring run to take a lead at the break. Marshall (5-19, 2-13 MAC) cut the lead to with 12:11 remaining. Roderick Middleton quickly silenced the Thundering Herd threat by nailing back-to-back three pointers to extend the Buffalo lead to 11 points with 11:02 remaining. Middleton scored all 14 of his points, including three three-pointers, in the second half. The Bulls would extend their lead to 16 points before cruising to the 13-point victory. Buffalo dominated the glass, outrebounding Marshall, 41-29, including 19 offensive boards. Bortz grabbed a game-high eight rebounds to go along with his 12 points. Daniel Gilbert and Parnell Smith added 7 and 6 rebounds, respectively. Defensively, the Bulls had 12 steals and forced 16 Marshall turnovers. It was a soul-searching game for us because we were really tired after coming off our trip to Fresno, head coach Reggie Witherspoon said. I thought our guys did a good job of containing the dribble penetration of Marshall s perimeter players and we did a pretty good job of going to the glass and working as hard as we could to get offensive rebounds. In the game, Battle moved past Curtis Blackmore ( ) into seventh place on UB s all-time scoring list with 1,293 points.

18 TURNER BATTLE MAC PLAYER OF THE YEAR CANDIDATE PER GAME AVERAGES 15.6 Points 4.7 Rebounds 4.4 Assists 1.5 Steals 48.1 FG% In the Overall Rankings Scoring...8th (15.6 ppg) FG Percentage... 3rd (48.1%) Assists... 6th (4.44 apg) Steals... T-10th (1.52 spg) Assist/Turnover Ratio... 3rd (2.27) Defensive Rebounds...T-13th (3.76 rpg) Per Game Totals Opponent M FG-A 3M-A FT-A REB PF A S TP at Connecticut FDU Indiana State Colgate W. Michigan at Elon Niagara at Canisius at Penn State at BGSU at C. Michigan Toledo at Akron Miami at Kent State No. Illinois Marshall at E. Michigan Ohio at Miami at W. Michigan Ball State Kent State Fresno State Marshall Three-time Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week. Battle s Season Statistics Year G-GS FG-FGA Pct. 3FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. Reb. Avg. PF-DQ A TO Blk. St. Pts. Avg

19 MARK BORTZ MAC SIXTH MAN AWARD CANDIDATE PER GAME AVERAGES 11.0 Points 5.8 Rebounds 1.6 Assists 1.2 Blocks 52.5 FG% In the Overall Rankings Scoring... 27th (11.0 ppg) Rebounding... 12th (5.8 rpg) Blocked Shots...T-4th (1.16 bpg) Offensive Rebounds...13th (2.08 rpg) Defensive Rebounds...15th (3.68 rpg) Per Game Totals Opponent M FG-A 3M-A FT-A REB Blk A S TP at Connecticut FDU Indiana State Colgate W. Michigan at Elon Niagara at Canisius at Penn State at BGSU at C. Michigan Toledo at Akron Miami at Kent State No. Illinois Marshall at E. Michigan Ohio at Miami at W. Michigan Ball State Kent State at Fresno State at Marshall Bortz s Season Statistics Year G-GS FG-FGA Pct. 3FG-FGA Pct. FT-FTA Pct. Reb. Avg. PF-DQ A TO Blk. St. Pts. Avg

20 University at Buffalo Men's Basketball Buffalo Combined Team Statistics (as of Mar 01, 2005) All games RECORD: OVERALL HOME AWAY NEUTRAL ALL GAMES... (18-7) (10-2) (8-5) (0-0) CONFERENCE... (10-6) (6-2) (4-4) (0-0) NON-CONFERENCE... (8-1) (4-0) (4-1) (0-0) ---TOTAL PTS REBOUNDS---- ## Player GP-GS Min--Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg BATTLE, Turner BORTZ, Mark CAGE, Calvin IDBIHI, Yassin GILBERT, Daniel JORDAN, Mario MIDDLETON, Roderick BIRD, Jason SMITH, Parnell ANDRE, Brian HALL, Wallace YOUNG, Darwin ATMAN, Andrew SCHMIDT, Christian ONYENUCHEYA, Barnar TEAM Total Opponents TEAM STATISTICS UB OPP DATE OPPONENT W/L SCORE ATTEND SCORING /20/04 at Connecticut L Points per game /23/04 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON W OT Scoring margin /27/04 INDIANA STATE W FIELD GOALS-ATT /01/04 COLGATE W Field goal pct *12/04/04 WESTERN MICHIGAN L POINT FG-ATT /07/04 at Elon W OT point FG pct /11/04 NIAGARA W O pt FG made per game /18/04 at Canisius W FREE THROWS-ATT /21/04 at Penn State W Free throw pct *01/02/05 at Bowling Green L REBOUNDS *01/06/05 at Central Michigan W Rebounds per game *01/09/05 TOLEDO W Rebounding margin *01/12/05 at Akron L ASSISTS *01/15/05 MIAMI W Assists per game *01/19/05 at Kent State LOT TURNOVERS *01/25/05 NORTHERN ILLINOIS W Turnovers per game *01/27/05 MARSHALL W Turnover margin *1/29/05 at Eastern Michigan W Assist/turnover ratio *02/02/05 OHIO L STEALS *02/05/05 at Miami LOT Steals per game *2/8/05 at Western Michigan W BLOCKS *02/12/05 BALL STATE W Blocks per game *02/15/05 KENT STATE W WINNING STREAK /19/05 at Fresno State W Home win streak * at Marshall University W ATTENDANCE Home games-avg/game Neutral site-avg/game SCORE BY PERIODS: 1st 2nd OT OT2 Total Buffalo Opponents