UB Bulls quick hits: men’s swimming and diving, wrestling wrap up MAC Championships

Men’s basketball (17-14, 10-8 Mid-American Conference)

The Bulls finished their final game of the regular season with a dramatic victory.

On Friday, the Bulls defeated Bowling Green (14-17, 5-13 MAC) 87-83 on the road to earn a first round bye in next week’s MAC Tournament. The Bulls scored nine points in the final 1:32 and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Four Bulls scored in double figures. Sophomore guard Lamonte Bearden finished with 20 points and five rebounds, while junior forward Blake Hamilton finished with 20 points, three assists and two steals. Freshman forward Nick Perkins finished with 11 points and grabbed five rebounds.

The Bulls await their opponent in the second round of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio and will face either No. 11 Miami (12-19, 6-12 MAC) or No. 6 Ball State (19-12, 10-8 MAC) on Wednesday.
Tipoff will be around roughly 9 p.m.

Men’s swimming and Diving

The men’s swimming and diving team finished in second place at the MAC Championships this weekend, highlighted by six members making an All-MAC team. The four-day competition was won by Eastern Michigan, who hosted the event.

This is Buffalo’s best finish since 2012, when it also came in second.

The second-place was secured on the final swim of the day. The team of senior Antonio Lanzi, junior Aaron Durrence, junior Martin Leigh and freshman Mason Miller combined to defeat Missouri State by .26 seconds in the 400-meter freestyle relay.

Buffalo sent sophomore Itai De La Vega and Miller to the All-MAC First Team, while juniors Charles Barry, Scott Huang, Reid Zyniecki and Lanzi were all named to the Second Team.

Divers will continue their season beginning this Monday in the NCAA Zones.

Softball (4-10)

The Bulls are currently on a four-game slide after going 1-4 in the Woo Pig Classic in Fayetteville, Arkansas this weekend.

Buffalo began the round-robin tournament with an 8-7 victory over Wright State (8-12) on Friday, but it wasn’t able to pick up another win during the weekend. The Bulls scored 14 runs in their second game against Arkansas (11-9), but were unable to top the Razorbacks in a 15-14 slugfest.

Buffalo managed to score only six runs in the remaining three games. Buffalo lost to Wright State 8-4 and then was swept in a two-game series by Northern Iowa (15-6) on Saturday and Sunday.

The Bulls continue their season next week in the Chanticleer Challenge in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Buffalo will take on Memphis (6-14), Furman (10-11) and Coastal Carolina (8-10) in the tournament.

First up is Memphis at 10 a.m. on Friday morning.

Women’s tennis (6-4)

The Bulls dropped both of their matches this weekend and are now losers of four of six.

On Friday, the Bulls fell to Minnesota (8-4) 7-0. The Bulls failed to pick up a single match win for the first time all season. On Saturday, the struggles continued as the Bulls lost to Iowa State (9-1) 6-1. Sophomore Tanja Stojanovska had the lone match win for the Bulls this weekend.

The Bulls travel to Puerto Rico to face Navy (11-5) on Wednesday, March 16. The time for the first set has yet to be announced.

Baseball (3-6)

After picking up a sweep over Tennessee-Martin a week ago, the Bulls found themselves on the other end of a sweep, this time, losing three in a row at the hands of Kentucky (7-3).

On Friday, the Bulls lost 5-1. Saturday was no better, as the Bulls lost 14-3.

But the Bulls came close on Sunday – losing 9-8 in 10 innings. The Bulls got off to a five-run lead before the Wildcats tied the game in the fifth inning. The Wildcats would go on to win in the 10th inning.

The Bulls travel to Emmitsburg, Maryland to face Mount St. Mary’s (1-6) for a three-game series. The first game is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m.

Wrestling (10-9, 2-6 MAC)

After a great first day, the Bulls came away with several NCAA qualifiers. It marked another moment of advancement for the program.

Freshman Jake Gunning came inches away from winning the MAC Championship and automatic qualifier in the heavyweight division, but fell to Northern Iowa’s Blaize Cabell 6-4.

Sophomore Colt Cotten qualified for the NCAA Tournament, as well as freshman Brian Lantry and sophomore Joe Ariola. The Bulls will have to wait until Tuesday to see if Gunning will receive an at-large bid to become the fourth member of the Bulls to qualify for the NCAA Championships, which will be held in New York City on March 17-19.

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