BUFFALO, NY—In a game that featured 15 lead changes, No. 21 Buffalo State (11-1/4-1) found itself ahead last, escaping with a 74-71 victory over visiting Fredonia (6-5/1-4) in a SUNYAC contest tonight at the Sports Arena.
Justin Mitchell (Buffalo/Timon) led Buffalo State with 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Ahmed Nagaya (Bronx/Astor Collegiate) added 14 points, Roderick Epps (Uniondale/Uniondale) had 12, and Nico McLean (Amherst/Amherst) scored 11 points.
Damien Goodwin (Buffalo/East) and Julius Bryant (Buffalo/Hutch Tech) led Fredonia with 20 points each. Leonard Smith (Brooklyn/Nazareth Regional) had 14 points, and Kevin Mitchell (Lake Luzerne/Hadley-Luzerne) netted 11.
Buffalo State led by as many as eight in the first half, but Fredonia battled back and held a 43-41 advantage at halftime. The second half went back-and-forth with neither team leading by more than four at any point. The Bengals finally took the lead for good, breaking a 67-67 tie with 1:45 remaining, and held on for the victory. Buffalo State's last seven points came from the free throw line.
Buffalo state hit just 2 of 14 3-point attempts, and Fredonia was 3 of 13 from long range. Each team scored 22 points at the free throw line as the two teams combined to commit 45 fouls.
Buffalo State will visit Brockport for another conference game on Friday at 8 p.m.