Wrestling
UB won their final six matches of the evening and rallied to beat Mercyhurst 31-12 Sunday afternoon at Alumni Arena. The Bulls trailed in the match 12-4 before winning out.
UB's Labe Black got the comeback started with a major decision win at 157 pounds. Tom Paladino followed it up with his own major decision win at 165 pounds.
Buffalo's Gary Cooper scored a win via pinfall at 174 pounds, earning his team six big points to give the Bulls the lead for good.
Garrett Bontempo won at 184 pounds by major decision, Kyle Cerminara won by decision at 197 pounds, and Tom Curl won by pinfall in the heavyweight division.
Mike Trotta was UB's only winner in the first four matches. Mike Sebaaly, Cliff Smith, and Kiel Illg all dropped their matches for the Bulls.
Veteran forward John Tavares passed the 400-goal plateau in the Bandits' 19-16 win at Columbus Saturday night. Tavares, the National Lacrosse League's scoring leader, had five goals and seven assists.
The win pushes Buffalo into sole possession of first place in the Central Division at 5-2. Columbus falls to 5-2 and is in second place, their two losses have both come to the Bandits.
Buffalo has a chance to avenge their only loss of the season Saturday when they host the defending champion Toronto Rock at 7 p.m. at the HSBC Arena.
Grand Rapids quarterback Clint Dolezel earned game MVP honors as he led his team to a 54-36 win over Buffalo, spoiling the Destroyers' home opener before 8,342 fans. Dolezel threw for 235 yards and four touchdowns.
The Destroyers' defense only stopped Grand Rapids on one possession, when they recovered a fumble.
Buffalo hosts Carolina Sunday at 3 p.m.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
