The University at Buffalo men’s basketball team snapped its three-game losing skid in a big way, by scoring a season-high 95 points in a 95-83 win over Northern Illinois at the Convocation Center on Saturday afternoon. Five Bulls scored in double-figures, led by Rodney Pierce who had 17 points, including the 1,000th of his UB career.
Buffalo (11-7, 4-3 MAC) shot a season-best 56 percent from the field, including 61 percent in the second half to pull away for the victory.
It was a tight contest for much of the first half with neither team leading by more than seven points. Dave Barnett was an early spark for the Bulls as he scored all of his eight points in the first stanza. The Bulls held a 47-42 lead at the break.
Continue reading ‘Pierce hits 1,000 points as Bulls get needed win’
News continues to trickle in regarding Buffalo Bills head coach Chan Gailey’s coaching staff. In this particular case, The Globe and Mail is reporting that George Cortez, offensive coordinator for the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders, will join Gailey in Buffalo to coach quarterbacks.
His most prominent coaching gig was as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of California, where he tutored former NFL quarterbacks Kyle Boller and Aaron Rodgers under the direction of head coach Jeff Tedford. Cortez also gets some credit for turning Jeff Garcia into a CFL star and sparking his moderately successful NFL career. With over 30 years of coaching experience under his belt, Cortez has spent 17 years working in the CFL, including the last three after leaving California.
Cortez was a candidate for the head coaching job of the Toronto Argonauts, but will come to Buffalo to coach up the team’s most critical position instead. Given the current talent at the position and the underwhelming list of players the Bills might pursue to change things up, Cortez has his work cut out for him.
Senior guard Frank Turner and junior forward Elton Frazier combined to score nine of Canisius’ 11 points in overtime to help lift the Golden Griffins to a 73-70 overtime win over long-time rival Niagara in front of a sellout crowd in the Koessler Athletic Center Friday night. The win improves the Blue and Gold to 11-11 overall and 6-5 in the MAAC, while the Purple Eagles slipped to 11-12 overall and 4-7 in conference play.
Frazier finished the night with a game-high 20 points and a team-best 10 rebounds for his third career double-double, while Turner chipped in 18 points, five assists and four steals as Canisius posted just its second win over Niagara since the 2002-03 season.
Continue reading ‘Griffs edge Niagara in overtime, 73-70′
There’s little question that this unit was disappointing in 2009; amidst enormous expectations, Buffalo’s entire passing offense fell flat on its face, busting out several teeth in the process. Did you know, however, that this group was more productive from a touchdown standpoint than any other combination of Bills receivers since 2004? Even the small numbers we saw this season were good by Bills standards.
Receiver isn’t a position being talked about as a big need area – we all know that quarterback, the offensive line and linebacker are the most frequent destinations for those discussions – but with two rather major unrestricted free agents on the list and a lot of unproven talent, the Bills might enter the ‘10 season quite thin at this position. It’ll need to be bolstered in some fashion, even if it’s just by adding some mid-to-low-range veteran free agents to compete with the young guys. Our analysis of Buffalo’s wide receiver position is after the jump.
Continue reading ‘Bills Roster Review: Wide Receivers’
