Sports - The Spectrum

OPINION

The burden without Bearden

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 12, 2016

On Tuesday, the Buffalo men’s basketball team had its first extended moments without its best player. The Bulls (14-10, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) dropped a heartbreaker to Toledo 71-69, but the game was merely a backdrop for the larger story: sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden’s absence due to “conduct detrimental to the team.” After the game, head coach Nate Oats said that Bearden was “out indefinitely.” We’ve already seen the Bulls without Bearden.

SPORTS

UB Bulls basketball preview: Men move forward without Bearden, women hope to get back on track

By Jordan Grossman and QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 11, 2016

Buffalo hosts Ohio (15-8, 6-5 MAC) Saturday in hopes of creating more separation between second and third place. The Bulls then look to close the gap on a red-hot Akron team (20-4, 9-2 MAC), that is winners of its last seven games, next Tuesday on the road.

Sophomore guard Stephanie Reid looks to push the pace against Ball State earlier this season. The Bulls dropped their second consecutive game in a 71-60 loss to Toledo Wednesday.

SPORTS

Second half dooms UB women’s basketball in loss to Toledo

By Edward Goldschmid | Feb. 11, 2016

On Wednesday, the Bulls (11-11, 3-8 Mid American Conference) fell to Toledo (13-9, 8-3 MAC) 71-60 at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio after a big second half for the Rockets erased an impressive 29-28 halftime lead for Buffalo.

Freshman forward Nick Perkins attempts a free throw during Buffalo's 80-70 victory over Eastern Michigan on Feb. 6. Perkins has been a versatile big man for the Bulls this season.

SPORTS

UB Bull Nick Perkins learning under NBA vet Donyell Marshall

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 10, 2016

Perkins has been a steady contributor to the Bulls (14-10, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) throughout his freshman season. Injuries to forwards David Kadiri and Raheem Johnson have resulted in Perkins getting more playing time than projected.

Head coach Nate Oats disagrees with a call during the Bulls' 71-69 loss to Toledo at Alumni Arena on Feb. 9.

SPORTS

UB Bulls lose heartbreaker to Toledo 71-69

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 10, 2016

The Bulls (14-10, 7-4 Mid-American Conference) lost on a final second shot to Toledo (15-9, 6-5 MAC) in front of an announce crowd of 2,706 Alumni Arena on Tuesday. The Bulls had a chance to tie the game with 1.4 seconds left, but an errant out-of-bounds pass resulted in a turnover and the end of Buffalo’s four-game winning streak.

OPINION

The life and death of ‘Johnny Football’

By MICHAEL AKELSON | Feb. 9, 2016

Police are investigating an incident in which Manziel allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, Colleen Crowley, and threatened to kill her and himself. Manziel’s father also told the Dallas Morning News that he believes if his son doesn’t get help soon he won’t live to see his 24th birthday. This is just the latest, and potentially final, development in a story that hasn’t changed at all in four full years, although it continues to darken due to it’s inexplicable monotonousness. It is the story of “Johnny Football,” a character who conned America into thinking he was a better player, and person, than he actually is.

Sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden checks his watch on the bench during Buffalo's 71-69 loss to Toledo Tuesday night. Bearden was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team."

SPORTS

UB Bulls suspend Lamonte Bearden indefinitely

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 9, 2016

The men’s basketball team has suspended sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden for at least Tuesday night’s game against Toledo for conduct detrimental to the team.

OPINION

The Denver Broncos will win Super Bowl 50

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 7, 2016

Defense wins championships.

OPINION

The Carolina Panthers will win Super Bowl 50

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 7, 2016

I believe that the Carolina Panthers will defeat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. But with this matchup between a rising star in Cam Newton and a potential swan song for one of the greatest of this generation in Peyton Manning, nothing is ever certain. But I would like to think the Carolina Panthers won the Super Bowl and Cam Newton already dabbed at the 50-yard line as Roger Goodell hands him the game MVP trophy.

OPINION

The UB Bulls are being built brick by brick

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 7, 2016

While Lance Leipold was the head coach last year as the recruits came in to Buffalo, there was a perception that those players - a few of them - were holdovers from a class built by the previous regime. So, I wanted to see what Leipold and his staff would do, some of the players and states that would target. And in the end, there were some trends that I liked from this class and last year’s group of players.

Freshman guard CJ Massinburg attempts to finish over an Eastern Michigan guard during a game last week. Massinburg finished with a game-high 36 points in Buffalo's loss to Ohio Friday night.

SPORTS

UB Bulls defeat Eastern Michigan 80-70 after slow start

By MICHAEL AKELSON | Feb. 7, 2016

After being down as much as 15 points, the UB Bulls rallied to defeat Eastern Michigan 80-70 to start their three-game homestand off with a win.

The women's soccer team rushes to celebrate with sophomore goalkeeper Laura Dougall (1) after the Bulls defeated Central Michigan to advance to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals last season. The Bulls announced their 2016 recruiting class Thursday.

SPORTS

UB women’s soccer announces recruiting class

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 4, 2016

On Thursday, head coach Shawn Burke announced his four-player class, three of whom are from New York and one from Ontario, for the 2016 season. The Bulls added Kara Daly, a forward from nearby Orchard Park, Mairead Martin of Mahopac, New York, Adrianna Van Cuyck, a midfielder from Walworth, New York and Gurjeena Jandu, a defender from Mississauga, Ontario.

Women's basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack celebrates after Buffalo's upset over Ohio on Wednesday night. She also celebrated her 200th career victory as a head coach.

SPORTS

UB women’s basketball pulls off big upset of Ohio

By Romulo Romero | Feb. 4, 2016

Buffalo played a sound defensive game, defeating the Bobcats (17-4, 9-1 MAC) 51-43 at Alumni Arena Wednesday night. The game was also a joyous occasion for head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, as the win was her 200th career victory as a head coach.

Lance Leipold announced his 15-player recruiting class, consisting of seven offensive players, seven defensive players and a punter, at Alumni Arena on National Signing Day Wednesday.

SPORTS

Linebackers and length focal points of UB football’s 2016 recruiting class

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 4, 2016

Lance Leipold announced his 15-player recruiting class, consisting of seven offensive players, seven defensive players and a punter, at Alumni Arena on National Signing Day Wednesday.

Sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden drives for a layup in a victory over Ball State at Alumni Arena. Bearden had a team-high 23 points in a 90-78 victory over Northern Illinois Tuesday night.

SPORTS

UB Bulls win third in a row, take down Northern Illinois 90-78

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 3, 2016

The Bulls (13-9, 6-3 Mid-American Conference) shut down one of the top teams in the MAC with a 90-78 victory over Northern Illinois (16-6, 5-4 MAC) on Tuesday night at the Convocation Center in Dekalb, Illinois. Buffalo handed the Huskies their first loss at home this season and held them to 38.6 percent shooting from the field.

OPINION

Go-to guide on how to bet on Super Bowl 50

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 2, 2016

There was an estimated $119 million placed two years ago in Las Vegas sportsbooks, and slightly declined last year to $116 million. The number is expected to stay around that range this Sunday for Super Bowl 50, with another $4 billion in bets coming from illegal bets like Super Bowl boxes and illegal bookmakers all across the country.

Bulls head coach Felisha Legette-Jack looks on, calling a play for the Bulls. The Bulls have endured a five-game losing streak, but Legette-Jack still believes her team can turn it around.

SPORTS

UB women's basketball has room for improvement

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Feb. 2, 2016

Legette-Jack is trying to right the Bulls (10-9, 2-6 Mid-American Conference) after a five-game losing streak, including Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to Northern Illinois (9-11, 2-7 MAC).

OPINION

Loss of Bortenschlager doesn’t hurt UB Bulls’ recruiting class – but losing Williams does

By Jordan Grossman | Feb. 2, 2016

But what seems like a detrimental blow to a program is actually not that crushing to the offensive side of the ball.

The football team walks off the field after its 24-21 loss to Nevada in September.

SPORTS

UB recruit Max Bortenschlager de-commits to go to Maryland

By QUENTIN HAYNES | Jan. 31, 2016

UB commit Max Bortenschlager officially changed his commitment yesterday, as he opted to commit to the University of Maryland. Bortenschlager tweeted yesterday that he was “excited and thankful to say” that he was an officially committing to the University of Maryland.

Junior forward Blake Hamilton looks to make a pass into the paint. Hamilton led the Bulls 17 points as the Bulls defeated Toledo 73-68, their second straight Mid-American Conference win.

SPORTS

Quick hits: Your recap for the weekend in UB Athletics

By Sports Desk | Jan. 31, 2016

Recapping the week in UB Athletics