Bulls Host Daemen in Exhibition on Wednesday Evening

Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UBBulls.com

Bulls Host Daemen in Exhibition on Wednesday Evening

10/28/2024 2:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Zach Monell

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (0-0, 0-0 MAC) will play the Daemen Wildcats (0-0, 0-0 ECC) in an exhibition on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. in Alumni Arena. Last season the Bulls defeated the Wildcats, 71-67, in their exhibition.

The 2024-25 season marks the second year with Head Coach George Halcovage III at the helm of the University at Buffalo men's basketball program. Last season, the Bulls finished their 2023-24 campaign with a 4-27 overall record and 2-18 in MAC play in a rebuild year.

The Bulls return four veterans to the squad while adding 11 newcomers. Buffalo lives up to the international city as they have the third-most international student-athletes in Division I for the 2024-25 campaign. Only UT Martin and Hawaii have more with 12 and nine, respectively. Weber State also has eight international student-athletes.

Anquan Boldin Jr. (Delray Beach, Fla.) is back for his sophomore season. As a freshman, he appeared in 22 games while starting in 18. The guard averaged 29.5 mpg to go along with his 7.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg. From the floor he shot .414 including .347 from three-point range. He recorded the third-most blocks on the team with 18. Boldin scored a career-high 19 points against Western Kentucky.

Lloyd McVeigh (Cabarita Beach, Australia) appeared in 30 games for the Bulls last season. The sophomore guard averaged 12.7 mpg, 1.9 ppg and 2.3 rpg in his first season in the blue and white. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, his brother, Jack, represented the Australian National Team.

Ryan Sabol (Washington, D.C.) was the only freshman on the roster to play in all 31 games last season where he started in 27 games. On the season he averaged 28.6 mpg to go along with his 8.1 ppg, 2.0 apg and 1.5 rpg. The guard shot .376 from three-point range as he scored a team-high 62 threes. At Bowling Green (2/6/24) he made seven threes which put him in the top-10 in program history with threes made in a single game.

Bryson Wilson (Alexandria, Va.) played in 23 games last season. Off the bench, he averaged 10.9 mpg with 2.3 ppg and 1.3 rpg.

Noah Batchelor (Frederick, Md.) transferred from Maryland where he appeared in 48 games for the Terrapins. The junior guard/forward made 20 three-pointers including a career-high three at Penn State on March 10, 2024.

Tyson Dunn (Newmarket, Ontario) comes to Buffalo from just across the Canadian border as he transferred from Western University in London, Ontario. In his three seasons with the Mustangs, Dunn started 52 games while appearing in 56 and averaged 30.4 minutes per game. The senior guard averaged 14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game for the Mustangs.

Omar Migues-Hibeljic (Quebec City, Quebec) attended the College Jean-De-Brebeuf in Montreal, Quebec. During his time at College Jean-De-Brebeuf, he averaged 16.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in 21 games. Migues-Hibeljic added 63 assists and 28 steals.

Brayden Jackson (Milton, Ontario) helped lead Fort Erie International Academy to the 2024 Canadian National Title. The 6'8" forward earned All-Canadian Honors in 2024 to go along with the national title.

Ben Michaels (Ipswich, England) played his high school career at Long Island Lutheran in Glen Head, N.Y. Michaels led the Crusaders to a 21-5 overall record including a 10-1 league record. The forward averaged 5.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.

Eric Kenesie Jr. (Kenosha, Wisc.) was a multisport athlete at St. Joseph Catholic Academy in Wisconsin. The guard helped his squad reach the 2023 WIAA State Championship game after a 51-point performance in the state semifinals. He was the first student-athlete to score 50 points in a state tournament game.

Frederiks Meinarts (Riga, Latvia), a 7'0" forward/center attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The Latvian native played for Rigas Zelli in the Latvian Estonian Basketball League. He also represented his home country at the 2022 U18 FIBA European Championship. During his time playing for Team Latvia, he averaged 15.4 minutes, 10.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.

Sam Akot (London, Ontario) attended Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Burlington, Ontario. He played for the Canada Topflight Academy National Gold team. The lengthy guard has the ability to knock down the three-ball and defend at a high level.

Daniel Shao (Morris Plains, N.J.) attended Parsippany Hills High School in Parsippany, N.J. During his senior season in 2022-23, he appeared in all 12 games Vikings. During the 2023-24 season, he was a student manager for the University at Buffalo men's basketball program.

Kavon Bradford (Portland, Ore.) attended Benson Tech in Portland, Ore., but during the 2023-24 season he spent time with the Western Canada Preparatory Academy (WCPA) in Edmonton, Alberta. While at WCPA, he averaged 20.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists while shooting over 39-percent from three-point range.

Tim Oboh (Orpington, England), a 6'11" center, played at Canterbury Academy and for the Kent Crusaders over the last five years. At Canterbury, he averaged just under 17 points and 12 rebounds per game in the EABL. Oboh represented Great Britain at the U16 and U18 levels in the European Championship competitions.

Back on the bench are Associate Head Coaches Hamlet Tibbs and Jake Presutti. Tim Saunders was promoted to Assistant Coach/Player Development as Jack Fitzpatrick was moved to Assistant Coach/Basketball Strategy. Joining the coaching staff this season is Kevin Voigt as the new Assistant Coach/Director of Basketball Operations. Voigt came from Villanova where he was a graduate assistant the last two seasons.

For all the latest on UB men's basketball, follow @UBuffaloMBB on Twitter/X, @ubuffalo_mbb on Instagram and like the UB Men's Basketball Facebook page.

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