UB men's game recap and look ahead

Sunday's East Coast Conference Final Round game vs C.W. Post

C.W. Post 68 Bridgeport 64 FINAL

Key Players for the Purple Knights in the loss

1. Junior guard Josh Martin 15 pts on 6 of 11 shooting and 3 assists
2. Senior guard Dave Boykin 14 pts on 4-6 from 3 pt range
3. Senior center Msoo Ikaaytor 13 pts 8 rebs 2 blocks.

What happened in the game: After UB defeated C.W. Post on National TV on Feb. 26th, the Pioneers were eager to make up for the loss to the Purple Knights. They did just that by outscoring UB 10-0 in the first three and half minutes of the game. After the Purple Knights took a timeout, they started to take surge and come back to make it a 36-36 halftime score.

Where it went wrong: Most of the second half was a equally shared by both teams as they would stay within close score of each other. UB had a one point lead with 2:25 left in the game and then the Pioneers took a one point lead with 1:41 left. The Purple Knights would a costly turnover and miss two consecutive field goals and would C.W Post would hit five additional three throws to ice the game.

Final Results: C.W. Post gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and moved to 21-9 overall and Bridgeport ended the season 19-9.

Some the top highlights for the Purple Knights this season:

1. The eight game winning streak from Feb. 3 through Feb 26.
2. Earning a spotlight on the SportsCenter top 10 plays on Feb. 10 after Omari Howard's ridiculous dunk against Mercy College.  Video Link: http://www.eccsports.org/sports/mbkb/2010-11/releases/02_10_sportscenter
3. Guard Dave Boykin becoming the 28th player in the men's basketball program to reach the 1,000 point plateau.
4. Head Coach Mike Ruane winning his 200th career game on Jan. 29 against St. Thomas Aquinas College.
5. The big road win over C.W. Post on National TV on Feb. 26th.

Looking forward to next season: UB will loose four starters in Tim Cokley, Jeramine Washington, Ikaatyor and Boykin. Even though, the group coming back next year should still be solid. Josh Martin will be asked to take a leadership role and reserves Chris Abney, Eion Lewis and Moyan Henry will earn more minutes and possibly even starting positions. Coach Ruane is a good recruiter and always gets the most out of his players.