January 26, 1995: Vol26n14: Basketball: winning season is crowd-pleaser

By STEVE COX
Reporter Staff
Don't look now, but the men's basketball Bulls have something on their
minds that hasn't been a consideration for them in recent years: March
Madness.
	More than halfway through their season, the crowd-pleasing
Bulls are atop the Mid-Continent Conference. At 11-5, with 10 games
remaining, the Bulls have already won more games this season than
last. This is the Bulls' fourth season since returning to Division
I-AA play for the first time since the 1970s. The team has virtually
doubled the number of wins it enjoys each season, with records since
1992-93 of 2-26, 5-23 and last year's 10-18.
	Monday night, the Bulls easily handled Western Illinois, 92-65
before an enthusiastic crowd of 1,651. "I think the first half was the
best that we've played since I've been here," said Coach Tim Cohane.
Playing strong defense, the Bulls forced 13 turnovers in the first
half, while turning the ball over only once. Their next test could be
the season's biggest when they go to Indiana to take on the Valparaiso
Crusaders. The Bulls hold a half-game lead over the Crusaders in the
conference.
	The stage was set for winning basketball this season when the
top eight players on the young '93-94 squad all returned this year.
Returning standouts included small forward Woodrow Williams, last
year's leading stealer, guard Modie Cox, a Niagara Falls native who
already makes the all-time top-10 list in seven statistical categories
after only two seasons at UB, forward Kelvin Robinson, last year's top
shot blocker, and Myron Banks, last year's top rebounder. They are
joined by a couple new faces who have had a big impact, including
transfer student Jamie Anderson and freshman Mike Martinho, who came
off the bench to lead the team with 20 points Monday night.
	Although winning the conference would not assure an automatic
spot in the NCAA tournament, it would make it rather likely. If not,
the team is a strong contender for a berth in the rival NIT
Tournament, according to Coach Cohane, who says he is happy for his
players, but clearly not shocked. "This is the natural progression of
this talent at the Division I level," explains Cohane, who is in his
second season as Bulls coach.
	The Royals women's basketball squad is looking for their
fourth straight conference crown. A strong start has the Royals at 5-2
in conference play, and 10-5 overall, one game out of first place.
Winning the conference with a strong finish would be particularly
sweet this year as it would assure the Royals their first-ever berth
in the newly expanded NCAA women's basketball championship.