BUFFALO WBB AND BONNIES MBB ADVANCE IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS
Both the UB Bulls women’s and the St. Bonaventure Bonnies men’s basketball teams won their first matchup in their respective conference tournaments and advanced one step closer to March Madness.
The Bulls overcame a 13-point deficit in the final 11 minutes of the game to survive the sixth seed Bowling Green, 65-63. The third-seeded Bulls had little to no momentum after suffering a 13-4 run at the end of the third quarter. As the game, and effectively, the season, was in peril, all eyes turned toward Buffalo’s Senior guard Chellia Watson, who led the MAC in scoring all season. Watson hit two long-range three-pointers to give the Bulls and their fans life halfway through the quarter. UB would outscore BG 28-14 in the final frame, with Watson and Sophomore guard Kirsten Lewis-Williams combining for 22 points in the fourth. With the two-point win, Buffalo moves on to the MAC Semifinal for a rematch of last year’s semifinal against Toledo. The Bulls won that game, almost one year ago to the date, in overtime by three points. This year, Buffalo lost both meetings with the Rockets by three points each. Tipoff from Rocket Arena in Cleveland is at 12:30pm.
St. Bonaventure, similarly, found their way out of deficit late in their A10 Second Round matchup with the 9th seeded Duquesne Dukes, advancing with a 64-59 win. The eighth-seeded Bonnies took their only lead of the first half at 14-12, and that lead stood for less than a minute. Trailing by nine points at halftime, St. Bonaventure was cold, shooting just 10-30 from the field. The defensive duel continued into the second half, with Duquesne’s lead steadily ballooning up to 13 points; up 45-32 with thirteen minutes to play. Then, the BONA run commenced. Over the Bonnies slowly shrunk the Dukes’ lead, and with two minutes to play, a Melvin Council Jr jumper tied the game at 58. The Rochester native went on to end the game on an 8-1 run himself, closing out the win. The Bonnies take on top-seeded VCU today at 11:30am in Washington, DC.
WILL EAST REPS WNY IN STATE HIGH SCHOOL HOCKEY SEMIS TOMORROW
The Williamsville East Flames boys hockey team is WNY’s lone representative in the NYS hockey Semifinal this weekend, hosted at LECOM HarborCenter. Will East took down Victor in the Far West Regional with a 4-2 win last weekend to punch their ticket to the Final Four. The Flames take on two-time defending state champions Skaneatles tomorrow. The Lakers from Section III rolled past Franklin Academy 10-2. Puck drop from downtown Buffalo is set for 9am tomorrow morning. The winner advances to the State Title game on Sunday at 11, against the winner of Queensbury and Ogdensburg Free Academy.
HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS FAR WEST REGIONALS THIS WEEKEND
The Far West Regionals for high school basketball are this weekend, with the winners earning a trip to the NYS Final Four.
Boys
Class AAA - Friday 7:30 - at Gates Chili HS - Jamestown vs Rush-Henrietta
Class AA - Saturday Noon - at Rush-Henrietta HS - Health Sciences vs Greece Athena
Class A - Saturday 4:00 - at Rush-Henrietta HS - Williamsville South vs Wayne
Class B - Friday 5:00 - at Gates Chili HS - Akron vs World of Inquiry
Class C - Saturday 5:45 - at Rush-Henrietta HS - Westfield vs Honeoye
Class D - Saturday 1:45 - at Gates Chili HS - Panama vs Fillmore
Girls
Class AAA - Friday 5:30 - at Buffalo State - Lancaster vs Fairport
Class AA - Friday 7:45 - at Buffalo State - Starpoint vs Aquinas
Class A - Saturday 12:00 - at Buffalo State - Williamsville South vs Pittsford Sutherland
Class B - Saturday 2:00 - at Buffalo State - Salamanca vs Hornell
Class C - Saturday 4:00 - at Buffalo State - Frewsburg vs Keshequa
Class D - Saturday 6:00 - at Buffalo State - Sherman vs Elba
SABRES ROUTED BY RED WINGS
The Buffalo Sabres got handled by Detroit on Wednesday, with a 7-3 loss on the road. Buffalo suffered four power play goals on the night. Despite the loss, newly acquired Sabre Josh Norris netted his first goal with Buffalo. The Sabres, last in the Eastern Conference, host Jack Eichel and the Vegas Golden Knights tomorrow at 12:30pm.
BANDITS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK AT CALGARY
After picking up thier second loss of the season, the top-ranked Buffalo Bandits travel to Calgary to avenge last weekend’s loss. The Roughnecks beat the Bandits 17-11 at KeyBank Center. Faceoff for the rematch tomorrow night is at 7PM.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
