Perfect start

It's pitch black in Alumni Arena. Spotlights flare as the loudspeaker addresses the roaring crowd and last season's NIT banner is raised to the rafters.

"And now," it booms, "introducing your 2005 Buffalo Bulls."

UB men's basketball opened its season in grand style Friday night, defeating a tenacious Canisius Griffins team 81-76 in front of a sellout crowd of 6,188 that was on edge with tip-off anticipation.

The Bulls and Griffins traded the lead all the way to the wire. Senior guard Calvin Cage was unstoppable off the dribble, leading the Bulls with 22 points and shooting 4-7 from beyond the arc.

After squeaking by Canisius, UB trounced Buffalo State College on Sunday 96-54 to open its season a perfect 2-0.

Joining Cage, three other Bulls were able to post double-digit point totals helping UB ensure victory Friday. Senior forward Mario Jordan, senior guard Roderick Middleton and junior forward Parnell Smith chipped in with 16, 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Riding the emotion of the crowd, the Bulls started the game with an 11-4 run before extending their lead to 19-10 with 11:33 remaining. Canisius, however, refused to quit, battling back to a 35-33 lead with just over a minute left in the half.

Isolated at the top of the key, Cage drove to the basket, drawing the foul. Following the automatic two, Smith was able to score on a tip in before the buzzer, giving UB a 37-35 lead at the half.

The Griffins came out of the gate firing in the second half starting out with a 12-2 run. Not to be outdone, the Bulls returned the favor going 14-3 to take back the lead by one.

"Coming out in the second half, it seemed like we had a lot of guys looking around to see what each other were going to do," said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. "They did come out flying in the second half, and for our guys to withstand that rush of momentum was important. I think it was important for our guys to know they can do that."

UB's Greg Gamble made sure the crowd was standing as he followed a half-court steal with a monster dunk, shifting the momentum of the game drastically. The freshman forward, playing in his first collegiate game, scored eight points and led the Bulls with 10 rebounds, half of which came off the offensive glass.

"I just had a desire to win, I just wanted to go out and play my best, try to be productive," Gamble said.

The Bulls led by as much as nine in the second half, until Canisius fought back to within one point with 5:49 left in the game. Middleton and Cage expanded the lead by hitting back-to-back threes to go up by six.

The Griffins kept it interesting though, using a late-game run to bring the score to 75-73 with 55 seconds remaining. Keeping his cool throughout the threat, Middleton sank a three with 25 seconds left to essentially clinch the victory.

Capitalizing on Friday's momentum, the Bulls hosted Division III Buffalo State on Sunday, completing its weekend sweep of local rivals with a 96-54 win.

The Bulls boasted five players in double digits, two of whom came off the bench.

Smith's 19 points led the Bulls while Cage, Middleton, Jordan and freshman forward Vadim Fedotov all chipped in at least 10.

Fedotov proved to be a force off the bench, grabbing six offensive boards on his way to a total of nine.

Middleton had a standout game, leading the Bulls with seven assists on top of 12 points and five rebounds. Despite the implementing of the NCAA's experimental 3-point line a foot farther from the basket, the swingman shot the lights out, going 4 of 7 from behind the arc.

Taking a 42-31 lead into halftime, the Bulls had dominated every aspect of the first half with the exception for the turnover battle.

The Bengals attacked in the second half, cutting the lead to six before the Bulls regained control. UB out shot Buff State in the second half, 54.5 percent to 35.5 percent.

Despite a smaller crowd than Friday evening, the fans played a huge role during Sunday's game. The few Mighty Maniacs helped confuse the Bengals to shoot poorly several times by counting down the shot clock when there was actually ample time left and convincing the players that time was running out.

Sunday served as a learning experience for UB, with 13 of the 14 athletes on the roster seeing game time. Now 2-0, UB will head into the remaining three games of the Las Vegas Tournament beginning with a game at No. 11 Boston College on Tuesday and then two games in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.