The Spectrum Vol. 71 No. 13

DA

University Police Deputy Chief Josh Sticht said in a Jan. 30 recording that the Erie County District Attorney’s office has convened a grand jury in connection with the death of Tyler Lewis, the Buffalo State sophomore who was fatally stabbed outside of the Ellicott Complex last October.

The recording of the conversation was obtained by The Spectrum on Tuesday and was recorded by a friend of the Lewis family in the room without Sticht’s knowledge.

Under state law, grand juries are tasked

with determining whether prosecutors have enough evidence to bring charges against potential defendants.

Sticht also told the Lewis family that one person involved is a former UB student, but he would not specify the individual’s specific role in the incident.

Lewis’ parents sued UB and Buffalo State last month, alleging that both universities “failed to properly vet students prior to admission and admitted students known to have a violent history,” who then attacked Lewis. John Della Contrada, a UB spokesperson, told The Spectrum

last month that “the claims made in the lawsuit are not supported by the evidence gathered in the case,” a position that he reiterated in a brief interview Wednesday.

Sticht said in the recording that everyone involved in the incident has been identified by investigators but subsequently “lawyered up,” that UPD had concluded its part of the investigation, that police stopped returning the Lewis family’s calls in December, and that the investigation

SEE GRAND JURY

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‘An invisible injury’: How concussions impact student athletes

One of the biggest challenges about treating a concussion is that they can’t be seen — even on MRI and CAT scans.

“A concussion is an invisible injury,” said Dr. John Leddy, a concussions expert who runs the Concussion Management Clinic at UB.

Symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, trouble thinking and concentrating often go unreported to trainers and coaches.

This is where UB’s Sports Medicine Department comes in. Their job is to educate athletes on the signs of concussions.

At the beginning of every fall semester, the Sports Medicine Department discusses injuries and concussions with each UB Athletics team, according to Dr. Brian Bratta, UB’s athletic director of sports medicine and wellness services. They review symptoms, report procedures, return-to-play protocol and the concussion diagnosis process.

“If we can educate them and show them that we’re here to help them and do those things, that makes them a little more trusting and a little more honest with us about signs and symptoms,” Bratta said. “I think that’s made a difference. I think a lot of it is just education.”

UB’s concussion experts hope that their efforts will help mitigate the worst effects of concussions on student athletes.

Continuing to play while concussed doubles one’s recovery time, according to

Leddy. If a person hits their head again while concussed, it “more than quadruples recovery time.”

“Imagine if you had the flu for more than a month — that would interfere with your life,” Leddy said.

Along with educating athletes, Leddy also works on enhancing concussion treatment.

He says that 20 years ago, concussions used to be treated as minor injuries. Experts would recommend concussed individuals relax in a dark room. But now, with growing research, that’s no longer the case.

While working as a team physician, Leddy realized that telling athletes to hold off on exercising wasn’t helping. So he and his research partner of 20 years, Dr. Barry Willer, decided to try a new approach: light aerobic exercise.

They started treating concussion patients with a treadmill test adapted from a treatment plan for heart disease. They first started with patients who had symptoms for more than a month. The patients walked at a set speed and incline, while their heart rate was monitored, until their symptoms flared up. Eventually, they tested patients closer to when the concussion occurred. Patients recovered faster when they started doing light aerobic exercise — such as walking — within the first few days after a concussion.

“What was nice in this study is we showed that if you did it early in that first week you prevented half of those students from going out to this delayed recovery

Living begins requiring Narcan training for residential life staff, prompting policy changes Gov. Kathy Hochul mandates overdose prevention medication in SUNY and CUNY residential living areas

Campus

Campus Living partnered with the Erie County Department of Health (ECDOH) to provide residential life staff the training to administer Naloxone in the event of an opioid overdose.

According to the ECDOH, Naloxone, widely known as Narcan, temporarily blocks the effects of opioids and can reverse overdoses. The effects of Naloxone can last anywhere between 30 to 90 minutes.

The Naloxone training was held during the spring paraprofessional staff training at the start of the semester, according to Erin Dengler, senior assistant director of marketing and communications for Student Life.

A shortened version of the training that residential staff received can be found here.

“We are partnering with University Police, who are trained first responders, to finalize the Residential Life policy,” Dengler stated. “Approval of the policy requires alignment with SUNY guidance.”

The policy will include the response steps outlined on the ECDOH’s site, but residential staff are instructed to call UPD rather than 911 in response to any medical-related incidents.

In the event of an emergency, Campus Living staff will administer Narcan if they have access to it on their person or are able to retrieve Narcan before UPD arrives, according to Meegan Hunt, interim director for Residential Life.

Hunt further noted that UPD has “extremely fast response times of two to three minutes.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation last fall requiring SUNY and CUNY housing facilities to have a supply of “opioid antagonists” and provide training of resident assistants in the administration with the intention of “leading to faster response times” and “preventing needless tragedies.”

The bill is a response to the opioid epidemic crisis and the increased death rates in NYS, which exceeded national rates in both 2020 and 2021, according to the executive summary of Thomas P. DiNapoli, NYS comptroller.

According to findings in DiNapoli’s summary, in 2021, every 25 out of every 100,000 New Yorkers died from opioid overdoses compared to five per 100,000 in 2010.

“By having on-site opioid antagonists in schools and trained resident assistants capable of administering these antigens, these life saving medications are a common sense solution to preventing more overdose-related fatalities,” the summary says.

Additional information and resources about opioids and other substances in Erie County can be found on ECDOH’s website.

ALEXANDER BROWN / THE SPECTRUM DR. JOHN LEDDY ALONG WITH DR. BRIAN BRATTA ARE LEADING UB’S CONCUSSION RESEARCH AND AWARENESS EFFORTS

All persons of interest have been identified; DA plans to charge ‘everyone that’s possible,’ official says

UB doctors discuss their research toward improving athletes’ health

KIANA HODGE NEWS EDITOR

GRANT ASHLEY

MANAGING EDITOR

AMY MASLIN SPORTS EDITOR

convening grand jury in stabbing case and former UB student was involved, per UPD official on hot mic

MOAZ ELAZZAZI / THE SPECTRUM POLICE TAPE SURROUNDING MOODY TERRACE WHERE TYLER LEWIS WAS STABBED IN OCTOBER

UB and student clubs observe Black History Month

A cumulated list of events to attend that celebrate Black history this month

VICTORIA HILL SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

Black History Month is dedicated to preserving and honoring the accomplishments and triumphs of African Americans throughout U.S. history.

The UB event calendar includes the entirety of events being held on campus in February, along with guest speakers invited on behalf of different associations.

Here are some of them:

The Intercultural and Diversity Center (IDC) is holding events throughout the month, including its “Tough Topics” series. The events held revolve around discussions of Black love, the intersec-

tionality of the Black community, and the destruction of Black affirmations. IDC events are held in room 240 in the Student Union.

The Black Student Union, one of the biggest clubs on campus, is also holding events. One of the club’s most-known is Black explosion. This event is an annual fashion show which is held to “celebrate, uplift and empower artistic expression in the Black community through fashion, art and music amongst students and the community,” as stated on the UBlinked event page.

Distinguished Speaker Series:

Grand Jury

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“took so long” because prosecutors were planning on “charging everyone that’s possible.”

Sticht wouldn’t say how many people were involved in the incident. UPD announced the night of Lewis’ death that they were searching for “at least four individuals who may have been involved” and later asked for the public’s help in identifying a person of interest.

Sticht said that he disclosed the information to Roquishia Lewis, Tyler Lewis’ mother, in order to “give her some kind of solace.”

“Roquishia Lewis has been stronger through all of this than anyone I could imagine,” Sticht said in a phone interview Wednesday. “The night that Tyler died, I had a confidential relationship with Roquishia Lewis. She was able to give us information that was absolutely instrumental to this, and I’m disappointed that somebody in her entourage recorded me.”

In his interview with The Spectrum, Sticht wouldn’t confirm or deny many of the details disclosed in the recording, but he did confirm that UPD had finished its part of the investigation and that UPD stopped returning the Lewis family’s calls after the DA’s Office requested to take over direct communication with the Lewis family.

“I can promise all of you, like I promised you that first night: We will never let this go,” Sticht said in the recording.

A spokesperson for the DA’s Office declined to comment, citing “the ongoing investigation.” Erie County DA John Flynn said in a Feb. 1 statement that his office’s investigation into the death of Tyler Lewis is “nearly complete.”

“I’m still shaky with it,” Roquishia Lewis said in a phone interview Wednesday.

“I’m hopeful. I mean, I have to. I have no choice.”

Email: grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com

UB is inviting Sherrilyn Ifill, civil rights lawyer and former President/DirectorCounsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, on Feb. 16, as a part of its Distinguished Speaker Series.

On Feb. 18, Brittany Jones, a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University, will present a virtual presentation on the topic “Why aren’t Black people allowed to fear in U.S. history?”

The final event, on Feb. 28, will be a conversation with U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York Trini E. Ross

titled, “Celebrating Black History.” Ross earned a Juris Doctor (a graduate-entry degree in law) from UB in 1992. Additionally, members of the campus community can show support to Buffalo’s Black community by promoting and purchasing from Black-owned businesses.

Morgan ST. Ross contributed to the reporting of this story.

Email: victoria.hill@ubspectrum.com

UB schools preparing to hire 70 more faculty than average

The university looks to use the new positions to increase research and faculty diversity

GRANT ASHLEY MANAGING EDITOR

UB will be hiring 70 new faculty members — in addition to regular hiring — over the next 18 months, putting to use a $12 million investment from New York State, according to UB spokesperson John Della Contrada.

Faculty will be hired in all schools and many departments, but hiring will be concentrated in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Jacobs School of Medicine and the School of Engineering because “the potential for increasing UB’s research expenditures is the greatest,” Della Contrada said. Deans of each school have already created hiring plans.

“This provides UB with an unprecedented opportunity to significantly increase our faculty ranks and hire additional scholars to produce groundbreaking research that will positively impact our region, state and world, and who will provide our students with transformational experiences in the classroom, in labs and in our community,” Della Contrada said in an email.

The $12 million from the state will be an annual investment and has been added to UB’s operating budget. The funding is part of a SUNY investment package, announced last July, that will distribute $53 million to over 30 of the 64 SUNY colleges and universities to hire full-time faculty, according to a press release from the governor’s office.

UB is “firmly committed” to using the money from SUNY to hire a diverse co-

hort of faculty, Della Contrada said, with the goal of doubling the number of faculty from “historically underrepresented backgrounds,” which UB defines as “African American/Black, Native American, Pacific Islander, Alaskan Native and Hispanic/Latino people.” That definition can also include Asian Americans and women in some fields.

The percentage of new UB faculty hires from historically underrepresented backgrounds increased from under 10% in 2019 to almost 35% this year, according to Della Contrada. In 2022, 9.5% of all faculty came from “underrepresented backgrounds,” compared to the 73.6% of faculty who were white, according to the university factbook. 8.9% of tenure-track faculty came from underrepresented backgrounds in 2022.

“The university is proud of the progress we have made in faculty diversity, and we are committed to building on this progress,” Della Contrada said.

The state funding can only be used to pay for faculty salaries, and not the startup costs — typically associated with hiring some new faculty — for things like lab space, travel, administrative support, research equipment and more. UB will follow “its regular internal process for consideration of startup costs,” Della Contrada said, which includes “discussion between deans, chairs and faculty candidates” during the recruitment process.

Email: grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com

Sabrina akter-nabi

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People with disabilities — whether permanent or

those calls, she suggested that I call Student Health Services to ask for crutches.

So I did just that. I called UB’s Student Health Services, who I thought would be my best option at getting help, and asked for a pair of crutches to let them know I am immobile.

I can’t say I knew what to expect when I injured my knee.

I certainly wasn’t prepared for weeks of bed rest and missed class. I wasn’t prepared to start my last semester in bed, with a pack of frozen peas on my knee, wondering how I was going to leave my bed to go to the bathroom.

As a student, the last thing I should be worrying about is the university’s ability to accommodate me and my injury.

The university should have protocols for injured students, right? After all, anyone can get injured.

Oh, how naive I was.

My left leg was practically immobile the morning after I slipped on ice near South Campus. My pain was unbearable and medicine wasn’t helping.

My parents — my support system — are four hours away, and this was my first time dealing with an injury of this magnitude by myself. My mom was calling me every hour, trying to find ways to help me. On one of

The employee on the other end of the call didn’t ask me about the severity of my injury or even if I was alright. She simply told me that “the only way to get crutches is to schedule a visit with a doctor.”

I tried again. I was in desperate need of crutches; they were my only hope of leaving my bed.

But she insisted I couldn’t get crutches without an appointment. I wasn’t offered any means of transportation to the office, either. The receptionist did tell me that I could try calling local hospitals for crutches but warned me they would be expensive.

I felt dejected and angry.

How could those be my only options? Somehow leave my bed and limp to the Student Health Services building — which is off campus — or cough up $100 for crutches?

Every year, UB students pay a non-negotiable “student health fee” of $439.

And I can’t even get a pair of crutches when I need them.

After this letdown, I moved on to my next option: Campus

Living. I messaged an employee, explained my situation and asked for a wheelchair.

To my surprise, there wasn’t a single wheelchair in the whole Ellicott Complex.

Not one.

Injuries happen all the time, and over 3,000 students live in the Ellicott Complex. How could the university not have one wheelchair in Ellicott?

Who makes these policies and protocols?

This needs to change. People with temporary and permanent injuries and disabilities shouldn’t be an afterthought.

I was angry. I had no option but to accept being bed-bound. Thankfully, someone with Campus Living found a pair of padless, oversized crutches in a supply closet.

It was literally the bare minimum — but I needed to get out of bed somehow.

Student Health Services proved to be completely useless in assisting me with my injury. It was only through the support of my friends that I was able to overcome this experience. I am so thankful that they were willing to help and that some of them have cars because I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.

Online ordering was my saving grace. Frozen foods and nonperishables from Walmart and Target became my lifeline.

afterthought

and dealt with it.

I am grateful I had this option, but it makes me concerned for students who don’t have that support system.

What happens to the people who don’t have friends with cars?

Sure, their friends could pick up on-campus meals for them. But that won’t get them to doctor’s appointments or to class.

The weight of an injury shouldn’t rest solely on students’ shoulders — the university has many resources, and they should be put to use.

I have taken so much for granted in my daily life. Now, even the smallest things drain me. Following a week of slow healing, I was finally able to crutch my way to the bathroom to take a shower.

The bathroom is only two doors down from me, but it was the most tiring experience of my life. My only goal for the day was to make it to the handicapped shower stall.

After hobbling my way to the shower stall, I went to pull out the handicapped chair and it was broken.

The one thing I was depending on was broken. One of the few handicap-accessibleaccommodations the university provides couldn’t even be maintained properly.

The seat was bent at about a 25-degree angle, but I had already made it so far that I just swallowed what little pride I had left

I sat on my slanted shower chair, furious. After days of setbacks, the one thing I thought I could count on let me down.

I was devastated, upset and ready to give up.

Thankfully, this is only temporary for me. In a few more weeks, I’ll have healed.

But some students don’t have the privilege to heal. Some students have permanent disabilities and have to deal with the carelessness of the university on a daily basis.

The university needs to be held accountable for providing more accommodations for people with disabilities.

Leaving my room and going to campus on crutches seems so unrealistic to me.

This campus is not designed for those with disabilities, temporary or permanent.

How am I going to get to my classes? Crutch a mile to campus?

Or wait in line for the Stampede, with 50 other students and get trampled over?

Life isn’t easy with an injury, and I wish I didn’t have to stress over things the university should have handled.

When will the change start?

Email: victoria.hill@ubspectrum.com

Superhero movies are ruining the art of film

example being Marvel’s July 2022 box office hit “Thor: Love and Thunder.”

Generally, superhero movies should draw from their source material: comics. Comics are known for being campy and a little cheesy, but the movies they’re based on need to be more than that to really stand out.

“He’s right behind me, isn’t he?”

We all know this exact scene.

We’ve seen it play out in hundreds of movies. One character is discussing a plan or making fun of someone and — lo and behold — the character they didn’t want to hear their discussion was right behind them the whole time.

Ah yes. Peak comedy.

If you roll your eyes during these scenes as often as I do, then you’ve probably noticed that this example of lazy writing has wormed its way into a majority of comic book movies, a prime

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 16 2023

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Unfortunately, Thor 4 — like most comic book movies — doesn’t clear the bar. Advertised as a wholesome drama, fans are led to believe that Thor is on a journey to find himself after the events of “Avengers: Endgame.”

He faces a new threat, Gorr the God Butcher, who’s been deeply hurt by a sun god. Gorr belonged to a people who deeply worshiped this god, but were left to starve when they needed him the most. Thor’s goal is to stop Gorr’s god masacre — and hopefully find himself along the way.

As a long time Marvel fan, I was over the moon for this con-

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cept. A comic book movie? With a serious plot? When can I buy tickets? Am I sweating right now? If a movie can make me feel something — whether that’s joy, sadness, or disgust — I consider it well made.

“Thor: Love and Thunder” just made me disappointed. Advertised as a drama, this movie took every opportunity to make a joke.

Take Thor’s carriage, for example. There’s nothing inherently offensive about a carriage piloted by two goats in a comic book movie. But the devil’s in the details. Those two goats made me want to rip my hair out after what felt like their 23rd imitation of the famed “goat scream” meme from the early 2000s.

Not only did the humor fall flat in this movie, but worldrenowned actor Christian Bale was criminally underused. He played Gorr, but was ultimately cast aside after the end of act I.

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Rather, the A-list actor’s talents were replaced with empty comedy. (Cue the screaming goats and empty action sequences.)

Slapstick comedy and limited use of Bale ultimately made this movie lose sight of its endgame. Thor “found himself” by adopting a child, and Gorr’s story came to an end with no justice done for his character.

Fictional movies are supposed to transport you into their world and cause you to suspend disbelief. Part of suspending disbelief is having decent special effects, especially for superhero movies. If you think a multi-billion dollar company such as Marvel Comics would have acceptable special effects, you’d be mistaken. “Thor: Love and Thunder” uses a plethora of sub-par special effects to the point where the viewer feels a severe lack of engagement.

The CGI truly fell flat towards the end of the film where Thor is speaking to Axel, the son of his

deceased friend, Heimdall. Axel can project his consciousness to Thor even if he’s miles away from him, and he does just that. Unfortunately, Axel’s consciousness is depicted as a floating head that looks like it was cropped on an iPhone 5.

It’d be one thing if Thor 4 was some sort of anomaly, but it’s not. Other recent superhero movies like “Captain Marvel,” “Shazam,” “Ant Man and the Wasp” and many others have been plagued by cliche writing, lazy humor and bad CGI.

Most great films have three things in common: a concise plot, something to say and a wellwritten script that makes the audience feel anything other than disappointment or boredom. Comic book movies are meant to be silly, but as stand-alone films they fail to invoke any sort of emotion in their audiences which causes them to fall flat.

temporary — shouldn’t be an

Intercultural and Diversity Center’s ‘Tough Topics’ program facilitates meaningful conversations on race

Students discuss Black history, Critical Race Theory and book bans during the hour-long event

KATIE SKOOG ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

The event, “Tough Topics: The Pushback of Black History Month,” started out with a quiz entitled “Black Facts.” Students were given a list of products and brands, and were asked to select which ones they thought a Black person contributed to the creation of. Options included the home security system, the telegraph system, caller ID, Hulu, web animation and the threelight traffic system. As they filled out the quiz, music from a “Black History Month 2023” playlist rhythmically filled the room.

Students waited to see their scores. The result: Every one of the products and brands on the list had a Black creator.

The quiz kicked off the first event in the Tough Topics Program last Tuesday in Student Union 240. It’s part of a series hosted by UB’s Intercultural and Diversity Center (IDC) throughout February in light of Black History Month (BHM). The center’s mission is to celebrate, educate and advocate for students. The program, run by student leaders, encourages students to have tough conversations about current topics surrounding various communities.

“I hope it [the event] brings perspectives,” Zamira Caldwell, a senior biological sciences major and Diversity Advocate for the IDC, said. “I feel like at UB it can be difficult to find your space, so when people feel comfortable coming back to this space after we did a Tough Topics, I feel like that’s a job well done.”

The first event focused on the origins and importance of BHM, the importance of different identities in the Black community, recent controversy around Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the banning of AP African American Studies in Florida. Students sat at an open-ended conference table in front of a large projector screen, exchanging friendly smiles and waiting to dive into discussions.

A pre-discussion slideshow covered the definition of CRT (“an academic and legal framework… which conveys systemic racism is a part of American society”) and was followed by a video about the creation of Black History Month by Carter G. Woodson in 1926 as “Negro History Week.” The Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the organization Woodson founded, expanded the week to a month in 1976. It was recognized by President Gerald Ford that year and by Congress in 1986.

The video concluded in the present day; there are no federal requirements to teach BHM in schools and, on average, less than 9% of history class is spent on Black history. In some states, the subject is nonexistent.

“Does the education system do Black History justice?” appeared on the screen. Students sparked up passionate and open conversations about their own experiences in their former school years, expressing frustration with the lack of time spent on Black history compared to other subjects in the curriculum.

“If people feel comfortable challenging ideas in this space, asking questions, that’s

a job well done to me,” Caldwell said.

Many discussions eventually arrived at the banning of AP African American Studies in Florida and the College Board’s subsequent decision to strike CRT from the course.

After about 35 minutes of discussion, event organizers played a video about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to

block AP African American Studies from being taught in public schools. DeSantis said the curriculum “lacks educational value.”

The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) lists six concerns in the course’s curriculum: intersectionality, Black Queer Studies, Movements for Black Lives, Black Feminist Library Thought, the Repara-

tions Movement, and Black Study and the Black Struggle in the 21st Century.

Most students felt that Florida’s ban and the College Board’s decision to strike CRT from the class are erasing Black history. Participants then discussed how the six subjects that are of concern to the FDOE are integral to Black history and to telling the stories of other minority groups within the Black community, like women and LGBTQ people.

Some students participating in these events may not know the definitions of terms discussed by student leaders. Sometimes Caldwell is new to the material too.

“A lot of the time we [student leaders] have to set the context, and I feel like there’s so much value but also so much pressure to do that,” Caldwell said.

The student leaders emphasize the importance of cross-cultural dialogue as a way of further understanding and learning about these topics.

Another video shown by organizers covered the conservative-led movement to ban certain books in school libraries, including “The Story of Ruby Bridges,” a book about the first Black student to desegregate a New Orleans school in 1960. A parent interviewed in Williamson County, Tennessee claims that the book is “divisive and racially charged” and that it “gives white children a negative self-image.”

“Why is her [Bridges’] experience discounted and your white child’s experience more valuable?” another woman quoted in the video said. “That’s unfair.”

The students discussed what these bans will mean for both Black students and students in general — depriving them of historical context, education and different perspectives.

“The Pushback of Black History Month” was just one of four “Tough Topics” discussions the IDC will be hosting this February.

Caldwell’s favorite part of hosting these events is her love for the community.

“I’m centered around finding community,” she said. “I call myself a community builder.”

Caldwell and her fellow Diversity Advocates will continue to lead these upcoming events.

“I feel like attending Tough Topics really made me gain confidence on campus to be a student leader,” she said. “I always hope that it positively influences and impacts other peoples’ lives too.”

The events, held in Student Union 240 and online, are “Is Black Love Under Attack?” on Feb. 14, “The Importance of Intersectionality of the Black Community” on Feb. 21, and “The Destruction of Black Affirmations” on Feb. 28, all going from 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Email: katie.skoog@ubspectrum.com

Concussions

beyond a month,” Leddy said.

In the wake of concussion-related scandals in the NFL, many have debated the safety of sports like football and questioned whether leagues like the NFL are doing enough to treat concussions. Leddy says he thinks concussion protocols in the NCAA and the NFL are good — they just need to be enforced.

Research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is at the case series stage, “the lowest form of scientific evidence,” according to Leddy.

He also mentioned that, to his knowledge, occasional concussions from playing sports in high school or college is unlikely to lead to negative long term effects. He

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

added that it’s repeated impacts to the head over many years that tend to increase risk of developing CTE.

But adolescents suffer the most from concussions in terms of what it does for their daily life, especially because they have a longer recovery time than adults.

“Nobody’s quite sure why that is,” Leddy said. “I’m sure it has to do with brain development and blood flow and hormones.”

Concussions take students out of sports and school, which can cause student athletes to feel depressed, especially if their symptoms are prolonged.

Everyone heals differently and everyone’s body is different, which means that

some people can heal in days, while for others it can take months. There are many factors that go into this, according to Bratta and Leddy, including age, pre-existing conditions and previous concussions.

When treating student athletes, there is a “return-to-play protocol,” which includes limited activity, followed by light aerobic activity, sport specific exercises without head involvement, practicing but without contact, unrestricted training and finally a full return to sport.

There is also a “return-to-learn protocol” for students who have trouble sitting in class or taking tests with concussion symptoms. This involves an individual plan with doctors and academic advisors.

“The brain heals at its own pace, but we want to make sure that the brain heals the way it’s supposed to so that they can still be a student and still have a life,” Bratta said.

With new research, protocols, treatment and education, concussions — while serious — aren’t always as scary as they seemed in the past.

“The general public should know that a concussion is an injury to the brain that has to be respected,” Leddy said. “But if you see someone early enough and get the right approach, you can actually improve recovery and you don’t have to wait around until all your symptoms just go away.”

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‘It’s all about the girls’: Blackstone LaunchPad hosts Galentine’s Pop Up

Event showcases small businesses run by female-identifying UB students

Mariam Sadawi started her juice business in September 2022.

She offered samples to students at Blackstone LaunchPad, an entrepreneurial space for UB students, and collected feedback by letting her patrons leave slips of paper with either a smiley or a frowny face.

Less than a year later, the UB alum and founder of Hint Juicery returned to the university, this time tabling at Blackstone LaunchPad’s Galentine’s Pop Up event.

Last Thursday’s pop up was meant to empower women, showcase small businesses owned by female-identifying students and give students with that entrepreneurial spark a place to connect, according to Reem Berman, a public health graduate student and Blackstone LaunchPad venture coach.

With a space for small businesses to display their products and creative processes, Berman hopes to show female founders that there’s a space for them at the uni-

versity.

“Unfortunately, the entrepreneur space is still very white-male-dominated,” Berman said. “Oftentimes we see that women founders will pop in [Blackstone LaunchPad] or have amazing ideas but are always hesitant to move forward with them. So we were like, ‘how can we empower women to bring them out of their spaces [dorm rooms]?’”

Like many of these “dorm room businesses,” Hint Juicery started off small. In 2016, Sadawi was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune disease.

“I was told I would have to live off a bag for the rest of my life,” Sadawi said. “I was really, really sick. But I didn’t accept that reality.”

She started researching ingredients that could help alleviate her symptoms. After she started juicing with her own recipe, she found that her symptoms “decreased tremendously.“

In 2022, she was inspired by an entrepreneurship class and began working on her company. Her goal? Share her recipe

and consume more of “natural, organic things such as fruits and vegetables.”

“As a woman, it’s so hard to get out there and compete with everyone else, especially in a business that is …male dominated,” Sadawi said, “I had a lot of support, … and it strengthened me, made me realize that it’s okay to talk about my story. I kind of built my confidence step-by-step until I was confident enough to do it [run Hint Juicery] by myself.”

The event’s section of female studentrun small businesses included Deez Munchies — a chocolate business run by senior criminology major DeAnna Scott — and Crafted by Camille, a waist beads and grad caps business founded by freshman psychology major Amani Camille.

Camille decided to table at the Galentine’s Pop Up event to promote her business after a hiatus.

“The Galentine’s [Pop Up] to me means women empowerment,” she said. “It’s all about the girls, and I love that.”

Tabling next to Camille was Scott, who held up her menu with a box of choco-

late-covered strawberries and breakable chocolate hearts on display in front of her.

“I really love how it was targeted towards women and women empowerment,” Scott said about the Galentine’s Pop Up. “I really feel as though women deserve the spotlight, especially when it comes to businesses and I love when they step out and they put themselves out there.”

Sadawi says she got more than some publicity out of the event — she was inspired by the women around her.

“It makes me so proud that students here are going after their dreams,” she said. “It’s so hard to actually tell yourself ‘You know what? I want to do this [start a business], even with the good and the bad that comes with it.’ It makes me want to support them in any way I can.”

Learn more about Hint Juicery, Crafted by Camille and Deez Munchies at @hintjuicery, @craftedby_camille and @itsapiece_of_cake on Instagram.

Email: jasmin.yeung@ubspectrum.com

JADE DENNIS / THE SPECTRUM MULTIPLE WOMEN-RUN STUDENT BUSINESSES WERE FEATURED ON BLACKSTONE LAUNCHPAD S GALENTINE S POP UP EVENT LAST THURSDAY

JADE DENNIS / THE SPECTRUM BLACKSTONE LAUNCHPAD’S GALENTINE’S POP UP EVENT WAS DESIGNED TO EMPOWER WOMEN AND THEIR SMALL BUSINESSES ON CAMPUS

Rihanna on the brain — and millions of TV screens

UB students have mixed feelings about Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII halftime performance

ALEX NOVAK ARTS EDITOR

Rihanna opened the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in a glossy-red, custommade Loewe and Alaïa getup, defiantly staring into the camera on a floating platform while her 2015 hit “B—h Better Have My Money” blared through State Farm Stadium in Arizona this past Sunday.

The Super Bowl halftime show is among the most polarizing performances of the year. Rihanna’s performance was no different, drawing mixed reactions from UB students.

According to some, Rihanna failed to bring that “wow” factor, often comparing her halftime show to Super Bowl predecessors such as Katy Perry, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

“It felt kind of underwhelming,” Sebastian Zeman, a junior exploratory major, said. “I feel like the choreo could have been a bit different from what it was. To compare it, Katy Perry’s show had a lot more and [Perry’s] set was just better made for all the songs that she performed.”

But not all students felt the performane was a bust. Many were excited to sing along and see Rihanna’s first live performance since 2018.

“I honestly loved it because after so long, it’s seeing her perform and do all of her hits. It wasn’t even half of her hit songs,” Supreme Gurung, a junior biology major, said. “I know it wasn’t a lot of what we expected seeing Shakira or JLo’s. But I loved it because, I don’t know, I think I just love her.”

“She killed it. Honestly, I didn’t see anything wrong,” Steven Le, a senior business administration major, said. “I give it 100

out of 10.”

Because of Rihanna’s pregnancy, which she confirmed after her performance, most students — even those who didn’t vibe with her set — commended the Grammy-winner for performing and embraced the elusive singer’s long-awaited comeback to the spotlight.

“Maybe [her pregnancy] made her less able to do crazy stunts,” Allie Cavino, a freshman finance major, said. “But I think it’s awesome that she [performed while pregnant].”

“I think if she wasn’t pregnant she definitely would have danced and done a lot more actively, but I think for what it was, obviously she couldn’t control that situation,” Ally Hurwitz, a junior economics major, said. “I think she did a really good job.”

Many memes were shared online in regard to Rihanna’s set, which featured floating platforms that fans compared to those seen in Super Smash Bros.

“There were a lot of memes about how she looked like Super Mario,” Cheng Lin, a senior information technology and man-

agement major, said.

Nothing in Rihanna’s show was safe from criticism — her singular outfit and those of her white army included. Her red getup drew praise from some, but others felt the lack of wardrobe changes hurt the performance

“I wish she changed [outfits] a little more. I liked her outfit though. I thought it was really cute,” Kayleigh Baynar, a freshman biomedical sciences major, said. “But it could have been flashier.”

Even her blizzard of all-white backup dancers caught strays from UB students.

“They looked like marshmallows,” Kaylee Ellis, a freshman psychology major, said.

Even though Rihanna was the subject of criticism for some, many viewers were understanding of the fact that her pregnancy contributed to a less flashy performance than those seen in recent years.

“The set was OK considering Katy Perry’s set, she had like a lion and everything one of those years,” Angela Cai, a sophomore computer science major, said. “But she is pregnant. The lion was also moving.

I’m sure it's really hard to keep your balance on that while singing and dancing.”

Others celebrated how Rihanna represented the capabilities of pregnant women. Just because she’s expecting doesn’t mean that she can’t continue to “Pour It Up.”

“More power to her. I think she’s representing women everywhere,” Julia Shavul, a freshman psychology major, said. “Rihanna is amazing. She did all that while being pregnant. She’s a queen,” Samantha Polanco, a junior criminology major, said.“That was really good women empowerment to see her do it by herself solo and pregnant.”

Although some believe that Rihanna delivered a fumbled performance, others clearly admire her ability to take the stage while carrying her second child.

With such strong opinions from UB students, whether or not Rihanna “shined bright like a diamond” or left viewers with “Wild Thoughts” is up in the air — much like the floating platforms that dominated her Super Bowl halftime performance. Email: alex.novak@ubspectrum.com

Celebrate Black History Month through local art

Celebrate Black History Month this February with local art exhibitions that highlight the contributions of Black visual artists. These three diverse exhibitions in Western New York bring Black art to the forefront:

LEROI: Living in Color

This exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center is the first-ever major retrospective of LeRoi Johnson, known eponymously as simply “LeRoi.” “LEROI: Living in Color” is a survey of the Buffalo-based artist’s career, featuring a host of his distinctly vibrant paintings.

Johnson’s works are filled with intense color and energy, drawing from surrealism and abstract expressionism as well as African, Caribbean and South American cultural influences. He calls this style “electric primitive.”

“The word ‘electric’ refers to both modern and colorful [elements], but it also means to shine light on a topic,” Johnson said. “In a sometimes subtle way, my work touches and shines light on contemporary themes. At other times I forgo subtleness [to] attack intellectual curiosity.”

His use of the word “primitive” refers to the “untrained intertwining” of natural, ancient artistic elements.

The exhibition, which is divided by periods of Johnson’s career, shows the thematic and stylistic breadth of the artist’s work. In the “Black Lives Matter” portion of the exhibition, Johnson examines institutional racism with emotional pieces like “Welcome to America” and “Evolution of

American History.”

The “identity and relationships” section includes several bright, joyous portraits — most notably the piece “Rick James Superstar,” a portrait of his brother, the legendary musician and Buffalo icon.

Parts of the exhibition also showcase different artistic periods of Johnson’s career, like his “Brazil period,” which features work inspired by Afro-Brazilian culture. These works feature high-contrast, streamlined figures and animals like cats and alligators, all doused in bright primary color.

Johnson calls himself a “proponent of primary colors,” though the vibrancy of his work is not a conscious effort.

“Many people describe my work as colorful. This is something that I don’t see or have a sense of when I’m producing something,” Johnson explained. “Color and the use of color is something that is very natural for me.”

“LEROI: Living in Color” is on view until Mar. 26. Admission to the Burchfield Penney Art Center is $5 for students.

12th Annual Artists of Color Exhibition

For the 12th year in a row, the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center presents the Artists of Color Exhibition to highlight Black artists local to the Niagara area.

In partnership with the Black Pioneers of Niagara Falls, the exhibition illuminates the artistic contributions of historical and contemporary Black artists in Western New York.

The exhibition pairs antique photos of Black individuals from the 1920s with contemporary works of art by practicing

artists of color to create a unique historical dialogue.

A press release for the show defined it as “a representation of the African American experience from a contemporary and personal perspective.”

The exhibition spans media, time period and subject matter, with everything from painting to photography to sculpture represented in the gallery.

The exhibition was curated by Ray Robertson, the gallery’s co-director and an artist in his own right. Robertson hopes the show will be a “unique and enlightening experience” for visitors.

Visitors to the gallery will also have access to “Freedom Crossing: The Underground Railroad,” a historical exhibition about the history of the Underground Railroad in the Buffalo Niagara Region.

The exhibition runs through Mar. 25, and admission is free.

George Afedzi Hughes: Identity, Power, and Reconciliation

George Afedzi Hughes, a painting professor at UB and internationally-exhibited artist, debuted his solo exhibition, “George Afedzi Hughes: Identity, Power, and Reconciliation,” at Buffalo Arts Studio last month.

The exhibition is part of “Displacement: Reclaiming, Place, Space and Memory,” a community education series that seeks to foster conversation about intersectionality and justice through art.

The Ghana-born painter’s work “explore[s] shared narratives that cut across racial differences and highlight the connection of contemporary global conflicts to colonial history,” according to cu-

rator Shirley Verrico.

Hughes’ paintings have a collage-like quality to them, incorporating abstract and realist elements into surreal visual montages.

The paintings deal with global conflict, politics and identity. Hughes infuses these heavy topics with a great deal of humor, and grounds his work in both contemporary cultural references and personal experiences.

“My works are shared narratives,” Hughes explained during an artist talk at the exhibition’s opening reception. “[I use] ideas that are kind of etched in history. I use humor and metaphor and combine these visual ideas in ways that address the nuance of racial reconciliation.”

The combination of the personal and the political is central to the work in Hughes’ exhibition.

Hughes, a former athlete himself, incorporates sports imagery into a lot of his work. “Tactics” features an athlete in cleats lying facedown on a field, his face censored, as a bald eagle flies over his body. In the background of the piece are several barcodes, a reference to Hughes’ first few years in the U.S. where he worked in a warehouse, driving a forklift and scanning barcodes.

“We need to reconcile our personal histories, our memories and our culture,” Hughes said in his artist talk. “You have to continue to contribute to society despite obstacles.”

The exhibition is on view until Mar. 1. Admission is free.

UB football announces new coaching staff hires

The additions include a new offensive coordinator, defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator

COCHI ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

After a 6-6 season that saw the Bulls win their third bowl game in four seasons, UB announced multiple coaching changes last week. Here’s a look at the new hires:

DJ Mangas (Offensive coordinator)

Mangas was hired as the team’s new offensive coordinator, replacing Shane Montgomery, who spent the past two seasons calling plays for the Bulls. Mangas was most recently a defensive analyst at UCF during the 2022 season.

The highlight of Mangas’ 11-year coaching career was the 2019 season, where he was an offensive analyst for LSU during the Tigers’ national championship run. Working with the likes of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, Mangas was a key part of one of the best offenses in SEC history, which averaged almost 50 points a game.

Because of that historic season, Mangas earned an NFL coaching gig in 2020 as an offensive coaching assistant with the Caro-

lina Panthers. He then returned to LSU for the 2021 season, taking over as the team’s pass game coordinator.

Robert Wright (Special teams coordinator)

Wright will join the coaching staff as the new special teams coordinator/defensive assistant.

Wright spent last season as a senior defensive analyst at Duke. Before that, he was a special teams analyst at Iowa State in 2021 and a defensive graduate assistant at Texas A&M during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. While at A&M, Wright worked alongside Linguist as well as current UB defensive coordinator Brandon Bailey.

Wright began his coaching career at the University of Miami (FL), where he was a special teams quality control coach in 2015.

Holman Copeland (Defensive backs coach)

Copeland, who will now serve as the

defensive backs coach, will return to UB 10 years after working with the Bulls as a graduate assistant during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. He was most recently the cornerbacks coach at Delaware, having held that position since the 2019 season. During the 2012 season, Copeland worked with former UB superstar and current NFL All-Pro, Khalil Mack as a linebackers assistant.

Bryan Applewhite (Running backs coach)

Applewhite joins the UB coaching staff as the new running backs coach. His resume includes over 20 years of coaching experience with him, including stints as the running backs coach with notable Power Five programs such as Nebraska and TCU.

While at TCU in 2020, Applewhite mentored running back Kendre Miller, who was recently a key player on the TCU team that made it to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

hockey club celebrates senior night, falls to

Both men’s hockey teams hosted senior night on Saturday

UB D-I club hockey (9-16-2, 3-5 NECHL) suffered a senior-night loss to Canisius (10-11-1, 5-6 NECHL) Saturday at the Northtown Center in Amherst..

Before the game, the team honored its lone senior, Timothy Allen, who was joined on the ice by his parents, sister and girlfriend. Allen shared his favorite memories of “road trips and long nights with the boys” and thanked his family for “sitting at the rink for hours to watch me play.”

“It’s a family. We all grew so close, we’re all together every week. You can’t even put it into words honestly,” Allen told The Spectrum after the game. “It’s so emotional when you have to go and finally realize that you are done.”

“He brings a lot of heart to the locker room,” Allen’s close friend and roommate,

sophomore captain Anthony Coty, said. “He is an older guy, so we all look up to him and we are really going to miss him.”

Allen was the only senior on a UB team with a dozen freshmen. He and graduate defenseman Ryan Edwards were among the most experienced players on the team. The departure of the team’s older players signals a “culture change,” according to head coach Morgan VonHedemann.

VonHedemann has played or coached at UB for the better part of a decade, and he’s seen dozens of players come and go.

“It’s gone from guys I used to play with into the new group of guys, so it’s going to be a bit of a culture change,” VonHedemann said. “We need to create new veterans, [while] our veterans are slowly leaving us.”

But VonHedemann says he’s confident his younger players will step up in coming

seasons.

“There’s a saying, it’s very simply put: leaders lead,” he said. “It’s nice to see [younger] guys starting to come out of their shells and lead by example.” In the game itself, scoring didn’t come easy at first, as both sophomore goaltender Anthony LoRe and Canisius goaltender Charles Drolet held the scoring down. The game was knotted up 0-0 after the end of the first period, despite both teams having short-handed breakaways.

The flood gates opened up as Canisius found the back of the net first, scoring on a powerplay 1:21 into the second period.

UB was able to bring the score back to even after Coty snuck the puck past Drolet on a breakaway opportunity set up by sophomore forward Jack Gallagher, who assisted the play.

But that was the only time the Bulls

Here’s a list of other hires and promotions within the football program:

Ryan Barry was named special teams quality control coach after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois.

Mickey Jacobs was named defensive analyst and quality control coach. He most recently spent two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at Pittsburgh.

Chauncey Scissum was named assistant strength and conditioning coach. Scissum was most recently the assistant strength and conditioning coach at Connecticut (UConn). He also spent two seasons at Memphis.

Ian Fried was named director of recruiting. He most recently held the same position at Western Michigan.

Jacob Byron was promoted to assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Ethan Sheirer was promoted to senior special teams analyst.

Email: brandon.cochi@ubspectrum.com

managed to score, as they struggled to generate any more opportunities. Canisius rattled off five unanswered goals before freshman goaltender Colin McDermott came in to relieve LoRe. The Bulls were only able to muster 16 shots on goal to the Golden Griffins’ 44.

Regardless of the loss, spirits remained high after the game as UB celebrated its final home game of the season. Players and their families gathered upstairs in the rink for food and drinks.

Allen’s teammates joked with him that he should return to UB as he looks to continue his education and become a history teacher. Allen said he wouldn’t rule out another season in the blue and white.

“I don’t really have a plan just yet,” Allen said. “I know I am going back for teaching, but I don’t know where just yet, so maybe you’ll see me again.”

While the UB D-I American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) team wrapped up the season at home, the D-II Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) club did the same, honoring their 11 seniors one rink away.

Defensemen Jared Marder and Josh Abbot, forwards Matthew Cohen, Cameron Bass, Jaret Pawarski, Shane Tyrie, Matt Tullo, Noah Sobko, Andrew Daddario, and goaltender Ryan O’Donnell were all recognized before the team’s 7-4 win over Brockport.

With the loss to Canisius, the D-I hockey club dropped below the Golden Griffins to fourth out of six teams in the Northeast Collegiate Hockey League [NECHL]. All six teams make the postseason, and the top two seeds (RIT and Oswego State) receive byes in the single elimination tournament.

UB now prepares for its last regular season matchups at Rutgers Friday night at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The club looks to get back on track before the NECHL playoffs, hosted by Rutgers and the College of New Jersey, in two weeks.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

BRANDON

Softball goes 1-3 in Jax State season opener series

UB wins its first game of the season against JSU

AMY MASLIN SPORTS EDITOR`

Softball (1-3) opened its season at the Jax State Season Opener in Jacksonville, Alabama this weekend, facing Army West Point (2-2) and Jacksonville State (3-1).

UB started the series Friday with a 2-5 loss to Army. The Bulls fell behind early with a hitless first three innings. The Black Knights found their lead quickly, going up 3-0 after the third inning. Freshman infielder Abbey Nagel got UB’s first run of the game with a fourth inning home run. She also helped UB score its second run of the game when she drove home junior outfielder Sarah Kelly.

In Friday’s second game, UB lost to JSU, 9-0. JSU hit two two-run homers in the first inning, putting them up 4-0. The Bulls had only two hits in the game — from senior pitcher Alexis Lucyshyn and Kelly — in the second inning. The two were the only Bulls to get on base in the game.

The Bulls faced Army again on Saturday morning, falling 9-11. UB gained a lead in the third inning after junior pitcher Julia

Tarantino drove in junior infielder Maddie Fernimen and Lucyshyn. The lead lasted until the seventh inning, and by the eighth inning, the Bulls lost their momentum, letting in six runs. UB could only come up with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, resulting in another loss.

UB ended the series on a high note, beating JSU 7-5 on Sunday to gain the team’s first win of the season. The Gamecocks took a 2-1 the lead in the second inning, but the Bulls managed to retake the lead in the third inning after Nagel scored on a ball freshman outfielder Mia Mitchell hit to center field. The Bulls went up 3-2 and didn’t let in another JSU run for the remainder of the game. Senior infielder Brianna Castro contributed three runs, while Lucyshyn helped secure the win by only allowing four hits and striking out four batters.

UB returns to action on Thursday and Friday for the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas. The Bulls will face Texas Tech (3-2), UTEP (3-2), Santa Clara (0-4) and New Mexico (2-3).

Email: amy.maslin@ubspectrum.com

Turnovers key factor in Bulls’ downfall to Kent State

21 UB turnovers fuel Kent State’s 72-65 comeback victory

times, resulting in 29 Kent State points.

Men’s basketball (12-13, 6-6 MAC) lost to Kent State (20-5, 10-2 MAC) 72-65 in Friday’s nationally-televised home game against the Mid-American Conference’s top seed.

The Bulls had a convincing first half, leading 25-14 at one point, but couldn’t hold back the Golden Flashes. With the loss, UB dropped to seventh in the MAC.

UB debuted its new black jerseys — which depict the Buffalo skyline — in front of a thunderous Alumni Arena home crowd. UB’s hot start fueled the fans, and the Bulls went to halftime with a 35-29 lead.

“I thought we were really sharp in the first half,” Bulls head coach Jim Whitesell said postgame. “We had some tough turnovers, and I thought that if we took care of the ball a little better, we would have had a bigger lead.”

Turnovers harmed UB all game. The Bulls ended up giving the ball away 21

Women’s basketball can’t hang on in Saturday’s dramatic finish vs Central Michigan

Bulls’ losing streak extends to three in a row, UB has now lost seven of its last eight games

MICHAEL VACCARO STAFF WRITER

Women’s basketball (9-12, 4-8 MAC) tallied their third-straight loss in a heartbreaker to Central Michigan (5-18, 3-9 MAC) Saturday. Despite a good look on a drive up the lane by fifth-year guard Zakiyah Winfield in their final possession, the Bulls fell to the Chippewas, 72-71, via fifth-year CMU guard Mikayla Hall’s late game heroics.

The Bulls sit just outside of Mid-American Conference Tournament play at ninth in the conference. UB currently holds the tiebreaker against Miami (OH), with CMU and Ohio University both behind in the standings by one loss.

“Our biggest culprit was turnovers,” Whitesell said. “We had 21 of them. They played good defense, give them credit. We had more turnovers than assists.”

UB’s defense deteriorated in the second half. They gave up 43 points in the half and, to make matters worse, made only six free throws despite being in the bonus for the majority of the latter frame.

“We talked about that several times,” Whitesell said. “We needed to get our drive game going. We shot consecutive 3-point attempts and we didn’t attempt to get to the free-throw line.”

Regardless of the score, Whitesell believes his team is getting better and more “game ready” with the MAC Tournament on the horizon.

“[A] couple of guys just didn’t have the game they usually have, but my team is getting better and they’re right there, we just have to get more complete,” Whitesell said. “We just have to bounce back and keep forging ahead.”

Sophomore guard Curtis Jones, the Bulls’ top scorer, was subdued by Kent

State’s defense. He scored seven points on 3-6 shooting. Jones scored fewer than 10 points in only two of his last 15 games.

After a team-high 21-point performance on Tuesday, junior forward Isaiah Adams had just six points on 2-8 shooting. He also committed five turnovers.

Senior forward LaQuill Hardnett scored 14, but ran into foul trouble in the second half and committed a team-high six turnovers.

Junior guard Zid Powell led the way for UB with 15 points in 22 minutes, and junior center Jonnivius Smith was a bright spot for the Bulls, scoring a season-high 14 points along with eight boards, a block and two steals.

The Bulls play next on Tuesday, traveling to Ohio University to take on the Bobcats (13-11, 5-6 MAC). UB looks to repeat last month’s 75-73 victory over Ohio. The game begins at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN+.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

The Bulls started off slow, allowing a 7-2 CMU run to, which quickly led to an 18-11 deficit at the first media timeout. Fifth-year guard Jazmine Young answered with back-to-back steals, leading to two fast-break baskets and cutting into the Chippewas lead. A three-ball by fifth-year guard Re’Shawna Stone brought the Bulls back within four to make it 22-18 at the end of the first quarter.

UB didn’t lead at the beginning of any of the four quarters. Their first lead of the game, 37-36, came late in the second quarter by a timely bucket plus an andone free throw by Winfield. The lead was quickly retaken by the Chippewas courtesy of a 3-pointer from Hall in the final seconds of the quarter, putting CMU back on top entering the half.

The third quarter began with back-toback 3-pointers by CMU, followed by a quick response by Winfield with a midrange jumper and fast-break layup on back-to-back drives to pull the Bulls back within one. The quarter ended on a 10-2 run by the Chippewas, who led 58-53 entering the fourth.

The Bulls faced their largest deficit in the fourth quarter: 11 points. They managed to chip away at CMU’s lead, setting up first-year forward Hattie Ogden for a go-ahead 3-pointer to put the Bulls ahead 71-70 at the 1:26 mark. After defensive stops by both teams, Hall’s mid-range jumper with eight seconds left secured the win for the Chippewas, 72-71, with UB unable to score on their final possession.

The Bulls took advantage of what they were given, scoring 17 points off turnovers to CMU’s six. Outsourcing the Chippewas in the paint 36-35, UB secured 16 second-chance points. But UB was also out-rebounded 34-29, while surrendering eight steals and eight blocks.

Stone was the game’s leading scorer, recording 23 points while picking up four rebounds and six assists. Winfield racked up 19 points in her 37 minutes of play.

UB will look to bounce back in its next game, where they will host Kent State (158, 7-5 MAC) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com