Saturday, October 25
Buffalo, N.Y. / KeyBank Center
7 p.m.
vs
Syracuse
Photo by: Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics
Bulls Ramp Up to Competition with Exhibition Against Syracuse at KeyBank Center
10/24/2025 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball program will play the Syracuse Orange on Saturday evening at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. following the exhibition between Daemen and Nazareth at 3:30.
The 2025-26 season marks the third year of Head Coach George Halcovage III at the helm of the University at Buffalo men's basketball program.
The Bulls return five veterans to the squad while adding nine newcomers. Buffalo added six transfers and three freshmen to make up their incoming class.
Ryan Sabol (Washington, D.C.) is Halcovage's only third year player. Sabol has played in all 62 games with 57 starts in his time in Buffalo. Last season, he averaged 33.3 mpg with a team leading 14.4 ppg as he grabbed 2.9 rpg. Sabol became the fastest Bull in program history to make 100 three-pointers in a career in just 42 games. The three-point specialist has made 141 career three-pointers which is eighth in program history. His 79 made threes in 2024-25 are the 10th most made in a single season in program history.
Noah Batchelor (Frederick, Md.) appeared in 30 games with 28 starts in his first season with the Bulls. Averaging 6.8 ppg, Batchelor led the team with 6.1 rpg. At the glass, he was one of eight MAC players to record 10+ rebounds at least three times in MAC play. Batchelor recorded a pair of double-doubles against Vermont and Western Michigan.
Omar Migues-Hibeljic (Quebec City, Quebec) saw action in 16 games during his freshman campaign. In limited action, the Bulls' lone Canadian tallied 43 points, 6 assists and 6 steals. In the second game of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, he scored a career-high 10 points against Georgia State (2/8).
Tim Oboh (Orpington, England), Buffalo's big man, played in 30 games in hi freshman season with 19 starts. Oboh averaged 3.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg in just 12.3 mpg. He had a career day at Toledo (2/4) as he set career-high marks in points (16) and rebounds (7). The center snatched at least 3 rebounds in 12 games and finished his freshman campaign with a .457 field goal percentage.
Daniel Shao (Morris Plains, N.J.) is back for his third season with the program. In his freshman year, he served as a student manager. Last year he did not see any game action.
Ezra McKenna (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) is a graduate transfer from Mobile. In his four seasons with the Mobile Rams, McKenna played in 103 games, 99 of which he started. He averaged 15.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game to go with his .588 field goal percentage. Over the course of the last three seasons, he recorded 57 double-doubles as he averaged 16.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Last season after averaging 17.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, McKenna was named to the Second-Team All-America list.
Derrick Talton Jr. (Fort Worth, Texas) comes to Buffalo after being a four-year starter at Oklahoma Wesleyan. He scored 1,540 points in his four seasons with the Eagles where he averaged 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals in his final two seasons. The Eagles went 120-19 during his time at Oklahoma Wesleyan including a trip to the NAIA National Championship in 2025.
Angelo Brizzi (Warrenton, Va.) played for the Longwood Lancers last season where he appeared in all 32 games for the Lancers with 22 starts. He helped the team to an 18-14 overall record and an appearance in the Big South Tournament. Brizzi averaged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Prior to Longwood he was at Davidson (2023-24) and Villanova (2022-23).
Kyle Jones (Frisco, Texas) spent the last three seasons at St. Thomas Aquinas. In his freshman season in 2022-23, the guard/forward averaged 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18 games played. He helped the Spartans win their fourth straight East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Title over Daemen in 2023. After battling injury in 2023-24, Jones came back last season where he played in 12 games averaging 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds. The St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans went 23-7 in the games that Jones played in.
Mikhail Pocknett (Wilmington, N.C.) attended Division II King University in Bristol, Tenn. the last two seasons. During his time with the Tornado, he scored 1,209 points while grabbing 510 rebounds averaging 20.1 points and 8.5 rebounds to go with a .498 field goal percentage. In his career, he tallied 21 double-doubles. In the 2023-24 campaign, Pocknett was named Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year. Pocknett earned First-Team All-Conference Carolinas last season as he averaged 22.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game to go along with his .522 field goal percentage.
Daniel Freitag (Bloomington, Minn.) played for the Wisconsin Badgers last season where he helped them reach the Big Ten Championship game and the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Coming out of high school, Freitag was ranked the 11th-best point guard in the nation and the 104th nationally ranked player according to 247Sports. The Bloomington, Minn. native was a finalist for 2024 Minnesota Mr. Basketball. He also was tabbed to the First-Team All-State Tournament squad after leading Breck High School to a 31-1 record and a Class 2A state championship.
Evan Romano (Holmdel, N.J.) was a standout at St. Rose High School where he averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a senior. Romano scored in double figures in 22 of 30 games, including six 20+ point performances and a 30-point game in a win at Brick Memorial. A two-time Shore Conference champion led the Purple Roses to a state championship in 2024.
Aleksa Vlajic (Belgrade, Serbia) brings international experience to the roster. Just one of three freshmen on the roster, he spent time with the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague U18 team and the U18 Serbian National team before making his way to the United States where he played for the Hoosac School, averaging 20.2 points,10.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 44% from beyond the arc to help propel the Owls to #97 in the national prep school rankings.
Matas Buteliauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania) attended DME Academy in Florida. After coming to the United States. He played in the FIBA U16 European Championships and represented Lithuania at the FIBA 2024 European U18 Championships where he appeared in seven games helping his country to wins over Finland, Germany and Sweden. He scored 28 points in the championships including a championship-best nine points against Spain.
Back on the bench is Associate Head Coach Hamlet Tibbs for his third season. Jack Fitzpatrick is back in Buffalo for his seventh overall season as this will be his third season as an assistant coach. Kevin Voigt returns for his second season with the Bulls as the team's assistant coach and director of basketball operations.
New to the staff are Assistant Coaches Raman Sposato and Henry Lowe. Sposato has quite the basketball journey as he's coached in the NBA for 12 years and in the collegiate ranks for five years. Lowe was an assistant coach with the Fordham Rams for the last four seasons. He was at Villanova with Halcovage where he helped the Wildcats to 184 victories and a pair of National Championships in 2016 and 2018.
New to the program for the 2025-26 season is UB Hall of Famer Turner Battle ('05) as the Men's Basketball General Manager. Battle was a three-time All-MAC and Academic All-MAC selection and the 2005 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. He also earned All-America honors in 2005. Battle was inducted into the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gicewicz UB Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 and in 2024 his number 11 was added to the Alumni Arena Wall of Fame.
ABOUT THE ORANGE
• The series between the Bulls and Orange dates back to the 1917-18 season. lead the all-time series, 29-6. Buffalo's last win over Syracuse came on Dec. 19, 2020, where the 14th ranked Bulls won, 71-59.
• Syracuse Head Coach Adrian Autry is in his third year at the helm of his alma mater. He has constructed a roster built around returning starters J.J. Starling (17.8 ppg.) and Donnie Freeman (13.4 ppg., 7.9 rpg.)
• J.J. Starling earned Preseason All-ACC Second Team honors.
• The Orange were selected ninth in the 18-team league in the ACC Preseason Poll.
• Adrian Autry (Syracuse, '94) has been with Syracuse since 2011 where he was an assistant until 2016 where he was promoted to associate head coach.
THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
• The Bulls return their top scorer and rebounder from last season in junior Ryan Sabol (14.4 ppg) and Noah Batchelor (6.1 rpg). Sabol led the Bulls in scoring in 14 games in 2024-25 including scoring in double figures 25 times. Batchelor led UB in rebounds 16 times with four performances with 10+ rebounds. He finished the season with a pair of double-doubles. The Bulls also bring back starter Tim Oboh and Omar Migues-Hibeljic.
• Unlike last year when the Bulls had eight freshmen on the roster, they brought in six transfers to Buffalo. Ezra McKenna (Mobile), Derrick Talton Jr. (Oklahoma Wesleyan) and Angelo Brizzi (Longwood) are all grad transfers. Kyle Jones (St. Thomas Aquinas) is a red-shirt junior as Mikhail Pocknett (King) and Daniel Freitag are a junior and sophomore, respectfully. In total, they've scored a combined 4,908 points in their college careers.
• Ryan Sabol, who posted 14.4 points per game and knocked down 79 3-pointers, comes back to Buffalo as Head Coach George Halcovage III's only third-year player. During his sophomore campaign, Sabol became the fastest player in program history to 100 made 3-pointers as he did so in just 42 games. He's currently eighth all-time in made threes with 141.
• The Bulls and the Miami RedHawks are the only MAC programs to return their leading scorers and rebounders from last season.
• Noah Batchelor finished last season 10th in the MAC in rebounds per game at 6.1.
• In the Blue Ribbon MAC Preseason Forecast, sophomore transfer Daniel Freitag was named MAC Newcomer of the Year.
• With the transfers that Halcovage and his staff brought in, they have combined for a 352-158 overall record and a .690 win percentage.
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.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
The 2025-26 season marks the third year of Head Coach George Halcovage III at the helm of the University at Buffalo men's basketball program.
The Bulls return five veterans to the squad while adding nine newcomers. Buffalo added six transfers and three freshmen to make up their incoming class.
Ryan Sabol (Washington, D.C.) is Halcovage's only third year player. Sabol has played in all 62 games with 57 starts in his time in Buffalo. Last season, he averaged 33.3 mpg with a team leading 14.4 ppg as he grabbed 2.9 rpg. Sabol became the fastest Bull in program history to make 100 three-pointers in a career in just 42 games. The three-point specialist has made 141 career three-pointers which is eighth in program history. His 79 made threes in 2024-25 are the 10th most made in a single season in program history.
Noah Batchelor (Frederick, Md.) appeared in 30 games with 28 starts in his first season with the Bulls. Averaging 6.8 ppg, Batchelor led the team with 6.1 rpg. At the glass, he was one of eight MAC players to record 10+ rebounds at least three times in MAC play. Batchelor recorded a pair of double-doubles against Vermont and Western Michigan.
Omar Migues-Hibeljic (Quebec City, Quebec) saw action in 16 games during his freshman campaign. In limited action, the Bulls' lone Canadian tallied 43 points, 6 assists and 6 steals. In the second game of the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, he scored a career-high 10 points against Georgia State (2/8).
Tim Oboh (Orpington, England), Buffalo's big man, played in 30 games in hi freshman season with 19 starts. Oboh averaged 3.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg in just 12.3 mpg. He had a career day at Toledo (2/4) as he set career-high marks in points (16) and rebounds (7). The center snatched at least 3 rebounds in 12 games and finished his freshman campaign with a .457 field goal percentage.
Daniel Shao (Morris Plains, N.J.) is back for his third season with the program. In his freshman year, he served as a student manager. Last year he did not see any game action.
Ezra McKenna (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) is a graduate transfer from Mobile. In his four seasons with the Mobile Rams, McKenna played in 103 games, 99 of which he started. He averaged 15.2 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game to go with his .588 field goal percentage. Over the course of the last three seasons, he recorded 57 double-doubles as he averaged 16.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Last season after averaging 17.8 points and 12.1 rebounds per game, McKenna was named to the Second-Team All-America list.
Derrick Talton Jr. (Fort Worth, Texas) comes to Buffalo after being a four-year starter at Oklahoma Wesleyan. He scored 1,540 points in his four seasons with the Eagles where he averaged 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals in his final two seasons. The Eagles went 120-19 during his time at Oklahoma Wesleyan including a trip to the NAIA National Championship in 2025.
Angelo Brizzi (Warrenton, Va.) played for the Longwood Lancers last season where he appeared in all 32 games for the Lancers with 22 starts. He helped the team to an 18-14 overall record and an appearance in the Big South Tournament. Brizzi averaged 6.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Prior to Longwood he was at Davidson (2023-24) and Villanova (2022-23).
Kyle Jones (Frisco, Texas) spent the last three seasons at St. Thomas Aquinas. In his freshman season in 2022-23, the guard/forward averaged 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18 games played. He helped the Spartans win their fourth straight East Coast Conference (ECC) Tournament Title over Daemen in 2023. After battling injury in 2023-24, Jones came back last season where he played in 12 games averaging 6.1 points and 2.8 rebounds. The St. Thomas Aquinas Spartans went 23-7 in the games that Jones played in.
Mikhail Pocknett (Wilmington, N.C.) attended Division II King University in Bristol, Tenn. the last two seasons. During his time with the Tornado, he scored 1,209 points while grabbing 510 rebounds averaging 20.1 points and 8.5 rebounds to go with a .498 field goal percentage. In his career, he tallied 21 double-doubles. In the 2023-24 campaign, Pocknett was named Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year. Pocknett earned First-Team All-Conference Carolinas last season as he averaged 22.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game to go along with his .522 field goal percentage.
Daniel Freitag (Bloomington, Minn.) played for the Wisconsin Badgers last season where he helped them reach the Big Ten Championship game and the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Coming out of high school, Freitag was ranked the 11th-best point guard in the nation and the 104th nationally ranked player according to 247Sports. The Bloomington, Minn. native was a finalist for 2024 Minnesota Mr. Basketball. He also was tabbed to the First-Team All-State Tournament squad after leading Breck High School to a 31-1 record and a Class 2A state championship.
Evan Romano (Holmdel, N.J.) was a standout at St. Rose High School where he averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game as a senior. Romano scored in double figures in 22 of 30 games, including six 20+ point performances and a 30-point game in a win at Brick Memorial. A two-time Shore Conference champion led the Purple Roses to a state championship in 2024.
Aleksa Vlajic (Belgrade, Serbia) brings international experience to the roster. Just one of three freshmen on the roster, he spent time with the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague U18 team and the U18 Serbian National team before making his way to the United States where he played for the Hoosac School, averaging 20.2 points,10.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 44% from beyond the arc to help propel the Owls to #97 in the national prep school rankings.
Matas Buteliauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania) attended DME Academy in Florida. After coming to the United States. He played in the FIBA U16 European Championships and represented Lithuania at the FIBA 2024 European U18 Championships where he appeared in seven games helping his country to wins over Finland, Germany and Sweden. He scored 28 points in the championships including a championship-best nine points against Spain.
Back on the bench is Associate Head Coach Hamlet Tibbs for his third season. Jack Fitzpatrick is back in Buffalo for his seventh overall season as this will be his third season as an assistant coach. Kevin Voigt returns for his second season with the Bulls as the team's assistant coach and director of basketball operations.
New to the staff are Assistant Coaches Raman Sposato and Henry Lowe. Sposato has quite the basketball journey as he's coached in the NBA for 12 years and in the collegiate ranks for five years. Lowe was an assistant coach with the Fordham Rams for the last four seasons. He was at Villanova with Halcovage where he helped the Wildcats to 184 victories and a pair of National Championships in 2016 and 2018.
New to the program for the 2025-26 season is UB Hall of Famer Turner Battle ('05) as the Men's Basketball General Manager. Battle was a three-time All-MAC and Academic All-MAC selection and the 2005 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year. He also earned All-America honors in 2005. Battle was inducted into the Dr. and Mrs. Edmond J. Gicewicz UB Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 and in 2024 his number 11 was added to the Alumni Arena Wall of Fame.
ABOUT THE ORANGE
• The series between the Bulls and Orange dates back to the 1917-18 season. lead the all-time series, 29-6. Buffalo's last win over Syracuse came on Dec. 19, 2020, where the 14th ranked Bulls won, 71-59.
• Syracuse Head Coach Adrian Autry is in his third year at the helm of his alma mater. He has constructed a roster built around returning starters J.J. Starling (17.8 ppg.) and Donnie Freeman (13.4 ppg., 7.9 rpg.)
• J.J. Starling earned Preseason All-ACC Second Team honors.
• The Orange were selected ninth in the 18-team league in the ACC Preseason Poll.
• Adrian Autry (Syracuse, '94) has been with Syracuse since 2011 where he was an assistant until 2016 where he was promoted to associate head coach.
THE BULL-ETIN BOARD
• The Bulls return their top scorer and rebounder from last season in junior Ryan Sabol (14.4 ppg) and Noah Batchelor (6.1 rpg). Sabol led the Bulls in scoring in 14 games in 2024-25 including scoring in double figures 25 times. Batchelor led UB in rebounds 16 times with four performances with 10+ rebounds. He finished the season with a pair of double-doubles. The Bulls also bring back starter Tim Oboh and Omar Migues-Hibeljic.
• Unlike last year when the Bulls had eight freshmen on the roster, they brought in six transfers to Buffalo. Ezra McKenna (Mobile), Derrick Talton Jr. (Oklahoma Wesleyan) and Angelo Brizzi (Longwood) are all grad transfers. Kyle Jones (St. Thomas Aquinas) is a red-shirt junior as Mikhail Pocknett (King) and Daniel Freitag are a junior and sophomore, respectfully. In total, they've scored a combined 4,908 points in their college careers.
• Ryan Sabol, who posted 14.4 points per game and knocked down 79 3-pointers, comes back to Buffalo as Head Coach George Halcovage III's only third-year player. During his sophomore campaign, Sabol became the fastest player in program history to 100 made 3-pointers as he did so in just 42 games. He's currently eighth all-time in made threes with 141.
• The Bulls and the Miami RedHawks are the only MAC programs to return their leading scorers and rebounders from last season.
• Noah Batchelor finished last season 10th in the MAC in rebounds per game at 6.1.
• In the Blue Ribbon MAC Preseason Forecast, sophomore transfer Daniel Freitag was named MAC Newcomer of the Year.
• With the transfers that Halcovage and his staff brought in, they have combined for a 352-158 overall record and a .690 win percentage.
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.
Click here for ticket information.
Click here for information on the Bulls Championship Fund and how you can help UB Athletics.
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