Bulls Host Mercyhurst on Wednesday Night for Exhibition

Wednesday, October 21

Buffalo, N.Y.

6:30 p.m.

University at Buffalo

Mercyhurst (Exhibition)

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Photo by: Paul Hokanson/UB Athletics

Bulls Host Mercyhurst on Wednesday Night for Exhibition

10/20/2026 3:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Zach Monell

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The University at Buffalo men's basketball team (0-0, 0-0 MAC) will host the Mercyhurst Lakers (0-0, 0-0 NEC) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The game can be heard on Buffalo 1520/The Varsity Network App with Josh Whetzel and Bob Gaughan on the call.

The 2026-27 season marks the fourth year of Head Coach George Halcovage III at the helm of the University at Buffalo men's basketball program. Last season, he guided the Bulls to a 17-15 record, their most wins since the 2021-22 season. The team also received AP Top-25 votes in consecutive weeks for the first time since the historic 2018-19 season. Following the season, Halcovage signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season.

The Bulls return four players from last year's squad while adding 11 newcomers. Buffalo added 10 transfers and one freshman to make up their incoming class. Making up the roster are 11 Americans and four international players. Buffalo is one of 29 teams in Division I basketball that is made up of at least five countries. Buffalo has one of the more veteran rosters in the league with eight seniors.

Buffalo's captain in Kyle Jones (Frisco, Texas) returns for his final year of collegiate basketball. Last season he played in 19 games where he averaged just over 10 minutes a game. When healthy, the Bulls went 12-7 when Jones played. The Texas native finished the season with 2.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, five assists, 12 steals and two blocks.

Matas Buteliauskas (Vilnius, Lithuania) enters his sophomore season as one of Buffalo's returners. Last year he appeared in eight games including in the MAC Tournament against 2-seed Akron. He played a season-high 12 minutes at Toledo finishing with three points and three rebounds.

Also returning are Daniel Shao (Morris Plains, N.J.) and Evan Romano (Holmdel, N.J.). Shao made his collegiate debut last year against RIT while he also played against Penn State-Behrend. Romano did not record any game action as he red-shirted.

Former Syracuse Orange guard J.J. Starling (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) heads down the I-90 to Buffalo for his fifth year. A 2022 McDonald's All-American, has played in 116 collegiate games during his time at Notre Dame (2022-23) and Syracuse (2023-26) where he has scored 1,530 points. The dynamic player has scored 20+ points 21 times in his career.

Buffalo signed a pair of Tennessee State transfers in Jalen Pitre (Long Beach, Calif.) and Antoine Lorick (Harrisburg, Pa.). Last year, they helped the Tigers win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament for their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 32 years. Pitre led the Tigers with 6.6 rpg as he shot 62% from the floor in 33 games. He also spent time at Pepperdine (2022-24) and Sacramento State (2024-25) prior to Tennessee State. Lorick was fourth on the team in scoring with 9.8 ppg as he averaged 5.1 rpg. He scored in double figures 15 times last season.

Mikkel Tyne (Brampton, Ontario) played for the Richmond Spiders the last three seasons where he started in 71 games, the fourth most starts by a Spider since the 2005-06 season. The veteran guard played in 96 games he averaged 22.5 minutes, 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Prior to college he represented Canada at the FIBA U18 Americas Championship and FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in 2022.

Drew Steffe (Frisco, Texas) joins the Bulls from Southern Illinois. He played in all 65 games for the Salukis, including 51 starts where he averaged 28.5 mpg, 8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 2.4 apg. Prior to college, he was ranked a consensus 4-star shooting guard by ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports, On3, The Circuit, and MADE Hoops. In high school, his rival high school was Pomfret School, where Kyle Jones attended.

Buffalo added three-point shooter Harrison Reede (Aberdeen, S.D.) from Incarnate Word. Playing in 47 games, he made 57 three-pointers in his career over the last two seasons. He recorded a .532 three-point percentage for the Cardinals last season. Reede spent his freshman season at Southern Utah where he red-shirted.

Staying in the Mid-American Conference is Dylan Ducommun (Geneva, Switzerland) who played for the Northern Illinois Huskies last season. The Swiss native started in 26 games for the Huskies where he averaged 30.6 mpg to go with his 10.8 ppg, 2.9 rpg and 3.4 apg. A solid distributor of the rock, he was second on the team with 89 assists last season. A natural scorer, he scored in double figures 14 times including seven games with at least 15 points.

Another international player is Tristan Kuska (Braunschweig, Germany) who played at Carolina University, an NAIA school in Winston-Salem, N.C. last year. Kuska was third on the team in scoring with 11.6 ppg and second on the roster with 6.4 rpg. He scored in double figures 17 times as a freshman including a double-double.

Boluwasefe John (Corona, N.Y.) returns to the State of New York for his junior season with the Bulls. He spent the last two seasons at Clark (Mass.). Last season he was second on the team with 14.7 ppg and 6.8 rpg. The 6'8" forward led the Cougars with 30 blocks in just 23 games. John had a productive two seasons at Clark as he scored 508 points to go with his 286 boards.

JJ Frakes (Berrien Springs, Mich.) red-shirted last year at Oregon and will add depth to the roster. Prior to his time in Eugene, Frakes was a three-star recruit out of Berrien Springs High School. The Michigan native averaged 24.0 ppg, including shooting 45% from the field with a 35.5 shooting percentage from 3-point range as a junior. The guard earned Second Team All-State honors for the Berrien Springs Shamrocks.

Jahrel Vigo (Allentown, Pa.) comes in as Buffalo's only freshman on a very veteran roster. In 2024, he represented the Puerto Rican National U17 Team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup. In seven games he averaged 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. During his time at Allentown Central Catholic, he earned East Penn Conference First-Team honors in 2023-24. While at Phelps School this year, he guided them to the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) semifinals following a 29-point performance against Malvern Prep.

Back on the bench is Associate Head Coach Hamlet Tibbs for his fourth season. Jack Fitzpatrick is back in Buffalo for his eighth overall season as this will be his fourth season as an assistant coach. Kevin Voigt returns for his third season with the Bulls as the team's assistant coach and director of basketball operations.

Returning for their second seasons in Buffalo are Assistant Coaches Raman Sposato and Henry Lowe. Halcovage returns his entire coaching and support staff from last season.

Back for his second season as General Manager 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.

The Bulls will begin the regular season on Monday, Nov. 2 at Marshall for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge.

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

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