Men’s Water Polo
The No. 10 men’s water polo team looked to cap its successful season with a conference title at the NWPC Championships over the weekend, entering as the top-seeded team. Unfortunately Bruno (22-8, 8-2 NWPC) could not grab the conference crown, defeating St. Francis Saturday in the semifinals but falling to Harvard Sunday in the title game by tallies of 9-4 and 11-7, respectively.
Saturday’s contest saw seven Bears make the scoresheet. Jake Wyatt ’17 and Rico Burke ’18 posted two goals apiece, while Luke Irwin ’17, Yahel Murvitz-Lahav ’17, Tommy Bush ’18, Tyler Kirchberg ’18 and Jack Wilson ’20 each recorded one. Goalkeeper Luke Weiser ’17 saved 10 shots in the matchup.
In the next day’s contest, Bruno was unable to recover from an early 3-0 deficit and fell to the third-seeded No. 11 Crimson (25-6, 7-3). With the loss, Bruno failed to earn automatic entry into the NCAA championship.
Despite a hat-trick from Kirchberg, the Bears were unable to ward off the Crimson’s dominant offense. Murvitz-Lahav, Wyatt, Burke and Austin Hwang ’18 each netted goals in the matchup. Weiser made eight stops, saving a 5-meter penalty shot in the third quarter.
Sunday’s contest marked the seventh time that the Bears emerged as runners-up in the Northeast Water Polo Conference title game, previously earning second place in 1978, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989 and 1990.
Men’s Basketball
Following a mid-week loss to the University of Rhode Island, the men’s basketball team fell to Marist in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament by a tally of 87-79.
Steven Spieth ’17 again led scoring action for the Bears (1-3), posting 21 points and sinking eight of his 11 shots during the contest. Guard JR Hobbie ’17 also contributed to the squad’s offense with 12 points, followed closely by Obi Okolie ’19, who recorded 11.
Bruno trailed behind the Red Foxes (1-3) 40-37 at the half. Brian Parker furthered the lead for the Red Foxes 51-41 with a trey seven minutes into the second. Marist later widened the difference to 70-54 with a layup scored 5:24 before the end of the contest.
Marist’s Khallid Hart recorded a game-high 27 points, followed by Brian Parker, who matched Spieth’s total of 21 for the Red Foxes.
The Red Foxes shot about 55 percent from the floor, while Bruno managed 54 percent in the matchup.
The Bears faced off against Albany Sunday night. The Bears will host Morgan State Wednesday in the Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Men’s Ice Hockey
The men’s ice hockey team could not sustain its momentum from its first win of the season last weekend and suffered a pair of losses to Clarkson Saturday and St. Lawrence Sunday. The Bears (1-7-0, 1-5-0 ECAC) fell by tallies of 3-2 and 7-2, respectively.
Friday night saw an even contest against the Golden Knights (7-5-2, 4-1-1). Charlie Corcoran ’18 and Tim Lappin ’18 posted scores for the Bears, each leveling the tally in the second and third periods, respectively. Despite these comeback attempts, Bruno was unable to gain an edge over the Knights. The host team responded to Lappin’s goal with a quick shot past netminder Tim Ernst ’17 at 15:47 in the third to claim a narrow victory.
The following day, the Bears were unable to ward off the St. Lawrence Saints’ (8-4-2, 5-0-1) offense, as Bruno was outshot 39 to 27. Despite second-period goals from Tommy Marchin ’19 and Max Willman ’18, Bruno was unable to recover from a 3-0 first period disadvantage.
Bruno encountered some penalty trouble in the contest. In addition to posting five minor penalties, the Bears earned a five-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct at the end of the first period.
Netminders Ernst and Gavin Nieto ’20 each posted strong performances in the contests. Ernst made 21 saves Friday before giving the crease to Nieto Saturday, who stopped a career-record 32 shots against the Saints.
The Bears return to action Saturday with a visit to Maine.
