The men’s basketball team has suspended sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team, UB Athletics confirmed Tuesday.
Shawn Stepner of WKBW reported Bearden tested positive for marijuana.
Bearden sat out the Bulls’ (14-10, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) 71-69 loss to Toledo (15-9, 6-5 MAC) at Alumni Arena Tuesday night. He was, however, on the bench.
After the game, head coach Nate Oats would not say how long the suspension would be or the reasoning beyond that it was a violation of team rules.
Bearden leads the Bulls with 13.5 points and 3.5 assists per game while playing an average of nearly 29 minutes a night. He also leads the team in steals with 35.
This isn’t the first time a Bulls player has been suspended this season. Senior forward Raheem Johnson and sophomore guard Mory Diane were both suspended for Buffalo’s first game due to their involvement in the dorm theft that left former MAC Player of the Year Justin Moss expelled from UB.
Johnson has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a foot injury and Diane left the program in December to transfer.
Buffalo hosts Ohio (14-8, 5-5 MAC) Friday at Alumni Arena to end a three-game home stand. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
This story has been updated to include new information
Quentin Haynes contributed reporting
Jordan Grossman is co-senior sports editor and can be reached jordan.grossman@ubspectrum.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jordanmgrossman.
