UB Bulls quick hits: Basketball picks up key victories, baseball winless

Men’s basketball (15-12, 8-6 Mid-American Conference)

The men’s squad went 1-1 this past week and ended its three-game losing streak after an 88-74 home victory over Bowling Green (13-14, 4-10 MAC).

Earlier in the week, Buffalo lost on the road to top-seeded Akron (21-6, 10-4 MAC) 80-70 before heading back home to take the victory over the Falcons.

Sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden, who was three games suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team,” missed the team’s matchup against Akron, but played against Bowling Green. He finished with 16 points and six assists off the bench in the win.

The Bulls are fifth in the MAC, fourth in the East with four conference games to go.

Up next is a key matchup against Kent State (18-9, 9-5 MAC) on Tuesday night at Alumni Arena. Tipoff is at 6 p.m.

Women’s basketball (13-12, 5-9 MAC)

The women finished 1-1 week, most notably ending with a stellar defensive performance that was reminiscent of early-season success.

The Bulls defeated Miami Ohio (9-16, 3-11 MAC) on Saturday afternoon 58-39 in one of the best defensive performances in quite some time. Juniors Joanna Smith and Cassie Oursler led the way on offense with a combined 35 points.

Earlier in the week, Buffalo dropped a key conference matchup to Eastern Michigan (17-8, 8-6 MAC) 70-55.

Buffalo is now tied for third in the MAC East with Bowling Green (9-14, 5-9 MAC). The winner of their Wednesday matchup will take sole ownership of third place.

Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.

Men’s tennis (6-4)

The Bulls made their home debut a memorable one.

The Bulls downed Cleveland State 5-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Miller Tennis Center.

Senior Amar Hromic led the way for Buffalo as he picked up two crucial victories – one in the singles category and one in doubles. He defeated his opponent in straight sets (6-3, 6-4). In doubles, he and fellow senior Pablo Alvarez won their dual in straight sets by the same score as his singles match.

Alvarez also added a singles victory and won in straight sets as well.

The next dual will be this Friday at the Miller Tennis Center against Youngstown State (3-6). It is set to begin at 1 p.m.

Women’s tennis (4-2)

The Bulls dropped two consecutive matches this weekend following a perfect 4-0 start. The Bulls dropped consecutive matches to West Virginia and Pittsburgh (5-1) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Bulls hung in, but ultimately couldn’t overcome a powerful Mountaineers squad, succumbing to them at second singles with a loss by Chantal Martinez Blanco 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Against the Panthers, freshman Mercedes Losada Rubio was the only player to score a Buffalo victory. She defeated opponent Clara Lucas 6-4, 6-7, 10-5 at fifth singles.

Buffalo’s next match will be Friday at home against Youngstown State (2-8).The match will begin at 1 p.m.

Track and field

The track and field team continues to make strides one week before the MAC Championships.

On Friday, members of the team hit new personal records at the Zips Invitational, including senior Brian Crimmins, who finished 1:49.93 in the 800-meter run. Sophomore Tom Meehan finished in sixth place in that race and hit a personal record of 1:52.33.

For the women, senior Camaria Long finished second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.58. Freshman Allison Mazur hit a personal record in the 60-meter dash in 7.76 seconds.

On Saturday, junior Tyra Forbes won the women’s long jump with a distance leap of 5.60 meters at the Deneault invite. Junior Kaishaun Caithey finished third in the long jump category.

Many members of the team will compete at the MAC Championships on Friday and Saturday at Akron University.

Baseball (0-3)

Buffalo kicked off its season with three consecutive losses and two shutouts at the Davidson Tournament this past weekend.

On Friday, Air Force (3-0) shut out Buffalo 13-0 in a game where the Bulls only mustered five hits and committed three errors. The next day, Buffalo suffered yet another shut out to Davidson (2-0) in a 5-0 loss. The Bulls only grabbed five hits again.

On Sunday, the Bulls put up their first runs of the season. Junior third baseman Chris Kwitzer drove in the first run of the season with an RBI single to score junior right fielder Vinny Mallaro.

Buffalo continues its season this upcoming weekend in a three-game series against Tennessee-Martin on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Wrestling (10-9, 2-6 MAC)

The Bulls ended their 2015-16 regular season with a 29-9 loss to No. 20 Northern Iowa (4-10, 3-5 MAC) on Friday at Alumni Arena.

Four ranked Panthers competed and defeated Buffalo members throughout the day, including wins over Buffalo standouts Jake Gunning at 285 pounds and Bryan Lantry at 133 pounds. No. 33 Kyle Akins of Buffalo dropped his first match as a ranked opponent, losing to Leighton Gaul by fall in 3:42.

Members of the team will compete at the MAC Championships in Ypsilanti, Michigan on March 5 and 6.

Sports desk can be reached at sports@ubspectrum.com.