Sports - The Spectrum

Freshman guard Jayvon Graves hangs on the rim after a dunk. The Bulls became the outright MAC East champions on Friday.

SPORTS

Kings of the east

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Feb. 19, 2018

The men’s basketball team collected its first championship of the season. Friday’s win gave Buffalo the outright Mid-American Conference East division title for the second time in school history. The Bulls (20-7, 12-2 MAC) locked a top-four seed and a bye in the MAC tournament, got to 20 wins faster than any team in program history and broke the program record for most three-pointers made in a season during their recent win against the Bowling Green Falcons (16-11, 7-7 MAC). They are also on pace to break the school record for points per game, currently 3.2 points above the 84.1 record. “Our guys have been saying this team has got something special since back in the summer, so it’s nice that we can get some of those,” said head coach Nate Oats.

Senior center Cassie Oursler pushes in the paint to make a layup. Oursler has been one of the Bulls' top players all season.

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The edge: Buffalo vs. Bowling Green

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 19, 2018

The women’s basketball team will take on the Bowling Green Falcons in their game on Wednesday. The Bulls are having a stellar season, heading into the game at Bowling Green with a five game win streak.

Sophomore forward Summer Hemphill rejects the opposing player's shot. Hemphill had 18 points in the game against the Akron Zips on Saturday.

SPORTS

Bulls beat Zips at Alumni Arena 85-71

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 19, 2018

The Bulls remain a perfect 11-0 at home this season with their win at this year’s annual Pink Game.

Junior forward Nick Perkins slams the ball down. Perkins finished with 22 points and went 3-of-4 from deep.

SPORTS

Buffalo claims MAC East title

By Daniel Petrucceli | Feb. 17, 2018

The Buffalo Bulls are now the outright MAC East division champions for just the second time in school history.

Victor E. Bull runs down the court in Alumni Arena. The Bulls have their final five games of the regular season left.

SPORTS

The final five preview

By Sports Desk | Feb. 15, 2018

The men’s basketball team is less than three weeks away from the Mid-American Conference championship.

Senior 141-pounder Jason Estevez locks up with an opponent. Estevez is 7-7 on the year but is coming off a decisive victory against Northern Illinois.

SPORTS

The edge: Buffalo vs Binghamton

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Feb. 15, 2018

The wrestling team’s season is coming to a close and it will host its final home dual of the year. The Bulls (5-10, 2-5 Mid-American Conference) will face off with the Binghamton Bearcats (11-5, 6-1 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association) Thursday at 7 p.m. in their final match in Alumni Arena this season. Buffalo is coming off a 19-16 loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies (3-9, 1-5 MAC), while the Bearcats beat the Huskies 35-0 this past Friday.

Senior guard Stephanie Reid in the game against the Chippewas. See the results on the back page from Buffalo’s big win.

SPORTS

Bulls beat Chippewas 85-82

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 15, 2018

The Bulls went into Alumni Arena on Wednesday night to take on the first place team in the Mid-American Conference, the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Bulls were able to get revenge for a past loss and hand the Chippewas their first loss in MAC play this season.

Junior guard CJ Massinburg dribbles the ball at the top of the arc. Massinburg had 8 points, 9 boards and 7 assists in Tuesday's win.

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Buffalo beats Kent State 84-72

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 14, 2018

The men’s basketball team went into Tuesday night’s game looking to come back from their loss to Northern Illinois after slipping on defense in the final minutes. The team lost double digit leads in the final minutes of their last four games heading in. This performance may not mark the end to the Bulls’ finishing issues, but it was enough get the win.

UB Naked Guy standing with True Blue at a game. He has become a common fixture at UB games often sitting with True Blue.

SPORTS

The life of a nude icon

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 12, 2018

Kyle Yagielski doesn’t go to Bulls games in the usual fan apparel. Instead of a jersey, he wears no shirt. Instead of pants, he puts on shorts that end well above his knees. And instead of rocking team colors, he puts black X’s across his nipples and writes “UB Naked Guy” on his chest in black marker that “doesn’t come out for a few days.”

Freshman guard James Reese slams it at the rim. The Bulls are coming off a close overtime loss.

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Bulls lose 90-88 to Huskies

By NATHANIEL MENDELSON | Feb. 12, 2018

The Bulls (18-7, 10-2 MAC) lost Saturday afternoon after blowing a 13 point second half lead. They came in looking to go 8-0 against the MAC West division. With eight minutes to go in the half, Buffalo led the Northern Illinois Huskies (11-14, 4-8 MAC) 72-59, until the Huskies went on a 21-4 run over the next seven minutes.

Senior forward Mariah Suchan passes the ball down court. The Bulls have a big game against Central Michigan on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

SPORTS

The Edge: Buffalo vs. Central Michigan

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 12, 2018

Despite the Bulls’ success this season, there still remains one team ahead of them in the Mid-American Conference: the Central Michigan Chippewas. The Chippewas are currently first in the MAC and have been perfect in conference play this season. They are the last team to beat the Bulls, having a 86-79 win back in January.

Senior guard Stephanie Reid comes in for the layup. Reid is coming off a strong performance in the Bulls' win on Saturday.

SPORTS

Bulls 64-49 over the Redhawks

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 12, 2018

Saturday's win marked the second straight game where the Bulls held their opponent to less than 50 points.

Senior Joe Ariola controls his opponent in referee's position. Ariola's 11-3 win was Buffalo's only major decision of the day.

SPORTS

Buffalo lose 19-16 to Northern Illinois

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Feb. 12, 2018

The Bulls (5-10, 2-5 Mid-American Conference) looked like they were going to pull off an incredible comeback before losing 19-16 to the the Northern Illinois Huskies (3-9, 1-5 MAC). Buffalo dropped the first four matches, giving up a 16-0 lead. But they rallied and accumulated five straight victories to tie things up at 16-16.

Redshirt junior Jake Gunning takes down an opponent. Gunning is the reigning MAC champion in the heavyweight division.

SPORTS

The big three

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Feb. 8, 2018

UB has wrestled the toughest schedule in program history, facing four top-25 teams already, including two top-five programs. The team will be heading to Pennslyvania this month to face the number one team in the nation, the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Bulls are just weeks away from the end of their season and it has been a down year for the team. The schedule has been hard for the Bulls who are 0-4 in their top-25 matchups this season

Sophomore guard Davonta Jordan pushes in the paint for a layup. Jordan and the bulls are hoping to fix mental lapses so they can hold on to leads better in late game.

SPORTS

Defensive Mentality

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 8, 2018

If you look at the Bulls from a perspective outside the team, they would look like the top team in the Mid-American Conference.

SPORTS

Bulls beat Kent State 80-42

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 8, 2018

“When they come together they can knock people out,” said head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. “I just think sometimes we go out there and allow a team to be in a game with us. I think this game we never saw our opponent. We saw what we were good at, what we had to do and things we could offer the game, and I think the fans had fun.”

Junior guard Jeremy Harris goes up for a layup. Harris has been a huge addition to the Bulls roster this season and is shooting 41.4 percent from three-point range.

SPORTS

Bulls keep running

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Feb. 5, 2018

The Bulls have already matched last year’s total wins with 17 and they still have eight games left to play. The Bulls (17-6, 9-1 MAC) have been hot since they entered MAC play winning their first eight games before losing to Kent State (12-11, 6-4 MAC) on Tuesday. The emergence of newcomers junior guard Jeremy Harris and senior guard Wes Clark have been the big reasons for their control of the MAC.

Junior forward Summer Hemphill working through a layup. Hemphill has a string of recent strong performances.

SPORTS

Focused ambition

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 5, 2018

The team had a strong start going 9-2 in non-conference and followed it up going 8-2 in conference. The Bulls (17-4, 8-2 MAC) do not rest on their current mid-season accomplishments. Instead the players wait until they are MAC champions, always keeping their sights on it from the start of the season.

SPORTS

Winter Rundown

By Sports Desk | Feb. 1, 2018

Men’s Basketball (16-6, 8-1 MAC) The Bulls have looked like killers in the MAC so far this season. Despite a recent close loss to Kent State (12-10, 6-3 MAC), the Bulls have won nine of their last 10 games. Seven of those wins were by 10 points or more. The team started the season with some impressive individual performances, but now the Bulls have been playing on a more consistent level.

Jeremy Harris pushes through the defender to the rim. Harris will look to continue on his recent performances from the past few weeks.

SPORTS

The Edge: Buffalo vs. Western Michigan

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 1, 2018

One winter break later and the Bulls (16-6, 8-1 MAC) look like the best team in the MAC. Despite their recent win streak coming to an end to Kent State (12-10, 6-3 MAC), it remains their only loss in conference. And now they have a rematch with the Broncos (13-9, 5-4 MAC) this Friday at 7 p.m. at Alumni Arena.