HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL CLASS CROSSOVERS: BOYS RECAPS, GIRLS PREVIEWS
Yesterday, three high school boys' basketball teams punched their ticket to the Far West Regional with victories in the Class Crossovers at Buffalo State:
- Akron took down Wilson in the B Crossover with a 56-28 victory
- Williamsville South defeated Lackawanna 60-48 in Class A
- Health Sciences moves on in Class AA with a 51-42 win over Lockport
Tonight, the Buff State Sports Arena will see two girls' basketball crossover games:
- 5:00 - Class B - B1 Champ Salamanca vs B2 Champ Newfane
- 7:00 - Class A - A1 Champ Depew vs A2 Champ Williamsville South
The Far West Regionals between the Section VI champs and the representatives from Section V are this weekend, with games beginning Friday. The boys’ regional games will be in Rochester, while the girls’ Regionals are being held at Buffalo State.
SABRES SNAP LOSING SKID AND DEFEAT OILERS; PLAY IN DETROIT TONIGHT
The Buffalo Sabres snuck away with a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers at home on Monday night. The visitors from Alberta got six shots to beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen throughout the night, the goal post was hit four times by the Oilers, aiding the Buffalo goaltender in the win. Josh Norris recorded his first point as a Sabre, winning a race down the ice to set up Tage Thompson’s second goal of the game, what would stand as the game winner.
Buffalo is back in action tonight, on the road in Detroit, with the Red Wings battling for a playoff spot in the East. Puck Drop is at 7:30 this evening, on national TV, with the game airing on TNT.
BILLS MAKE HUGE SPLASH WITH BOSA; ADD PALMER TO OFFENSE, HOECHT TO DEFENSE
The Buffalo Bills are still in the process of reshaping their roster before the 2025 NFL Draft in April. Free Agency began on Monday, and already some major moves have been made by GM Brandon Beane. After restructuring Josh Allen’s contract, extending Terell Bernard, Greg Rousseau, and Kahlil Shakir, the Bills added Joshua Palmer to their wide receiver core and defensive end Michael Hoecht. Late last night, news dropped that Buffalo had found their elite addition of the offseason. Joey Bosa is a Buffalo Bill.
Bosa signed a one-year, 12.6 million dollar contract to come play in the city of good neighbors. The 29-year-old former 3rd overall selection has been a stud for the LA Chargers, recording 72 sacks over his nine year pro career. Formerly an Ohio State Buckeye, Bosa is no stranger to the cold weather, despite becoming a legend in Los Angeles. While Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby resigned with their respective clubs, Buffalo did not sit on the sidelines when it came to getting a game-breaker at pass rusher. Brandon Beane, like all of us, saw the formula to beating the Chiefs in this last Super Bowl: get to Mahones without a blitz. Bosa gives the Bills a higher likelihood of accomplishing that, having played the Chiefs twice each season of Mahomes’ career.
Palmer adds separation-ability to the Bills offense, which created the fewest separation on average last season. The 25-year-old wide out just wrapped up his rookie contract which he played out with the LA Chargers. His most productive season was 2022, when the former Tennessee Volunteer hauled in 72 catches for just under 800 receiving yards. What has been impressive for Palmer the last two seasons is his average yards per catch, which has been a consistent 15 yards per reception. Palmer, who inked a three year deal in Buffalo, will likely slide in as a quick replacement for Mack Hollins, who signed with the New England Patriots.
Michael Hoecht is a 27-year-old primary pass rusher, who brings elite athletic ability and grit to WNY. After starting his career as a special teamer, Hoecht gained more and more snaps throughout his time with the LA Rams over the last four seasons. The former standout at Brown University became a staple of the Rams’ pass rush in 2023, when he recorded 81 total tackles and six sacks. Hoecht acts as a replacement for Von Miller, who was released by Buffalo this past weekend.
COLLEGE HOOPS TOURNAMENT TALK
It’s the final week of conference tournaments across America, as everyone who is still playing eyes down a conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Two teams from Western New York are still alive in their respective Conference Tournaments:
Buffalo Women’s Basketball - The Bulls enter the Mid American Conference Tournament as the three seed, after going 13-5 in league play in the regular season. Buffalo matches up with the #6 seed Bowling Green Falcons in the MAC Quarterfinal this evening, in what has become a heated rivalry over the last few seasons.
Back in 2023, in Bulls’ Head Coach Becky Burke’s first season in Buffalo, UB lost at home to Bowling Green, but avenged that loss with a spoiler of a victory on BG’s senior day. Falcons’ coach Robyn Fralik left that summer for the Michigan State Head Coaching job; enter Fred Chmiel, who took over at BGSU. Last season, the Bulls swept the regular season series and knocked out the Falcons with a 70-64 win in the Quarterfinal of the MAC Tournament. With four starters returning from last year’s roster, the Falcons led Buffalo through the third quarter in their lone meeting in January, but once the Bulls took their first lead late in the fourth quarter, they never looked back, beating BG 70-60 at the Stroh Center.
Buffalo is led by 1st Team All-MAC honoree Chellia Watson, 2nd Team All-Conference selection Kirsten Lewis-Williams, and MAC All-Defensive guard and Lake Shore High School grad Noelani Cornfield.
Tipoff tonight is slated for 6:30pm at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, OH.
St. Bonaventure Men’s Basketball - The Bonnies are locked into the 8th seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, after ending the regular season with four wins in their last five games. With a bye to the Second Round, St. Bonaventure takes on #9 seeded Duquesne tomorrow morning.
This will be the third meeting between the Bonnies and Dukes this season, after the home team won each game. Back in January, Duquesne opened the game on a 25-6 run and never looked back. The Dukes took the first meeting 75-57. However, just two and a half weeks ago at the Reilly Center, St. Bonaventure responded with a hard-nosed win on Homecoming, coming away with a 70-63 win over the Dukes. In the win, 45 of the Bonnies 70 points were scored by the combination of Melvin Council Jr and Lajae Jones.
The winner of round three will advance to the A10 Quarterfinal to face top-seeded VCU. Tip-off tomorrow in Washington D.C. is slated for 11:30AM.
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