BUFFALO, N.Y.— Lovell Smith (Buffalo/McKinley) led the Bengals offense for a second-straight night, scoring 27 points and helping Buffalo State to a 96-86 SUNYAC win over visiting Oneonta on Saturday. The win puts the Bengals as the No. 6 seed entering playoffs next week.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State - 94, New Paltz - 79

LOCATION:  Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY

RECORDS:  Buffalo State (14-10, 8-9 SUNYAC), New Paltz (4-19, 3-14 SUNYAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Buffalo State took advantage of its speed and outscored Oneonta 30-2 on the fast break en route to the key 10-point win.  
• Smith led the offense, but got help from Kevin Marmolejos (Woodhaven/Beach Channel) who tallied 26 points, Mike Henry (Syracuse/W. Genesee) who scored 21 points and Nico McLean (Buffalo/Amherst) who recorded a double-double with 15 points and a career-high 10 assists.
• The score remained close in the opening minutes of play, with both teams trading the lead back-and-forth.
• The Bengals were able to push their lead out to six on two separate occasions in the first half, but each time the Red Dragons managed to chip away at the Buffalo State lead. A three-pointer from Lawrence Coleman with 15 seconds left pulled Oneonta to within one point, 44-43, heading into halftime.
• Again, the game remained close in the opening minutes of the half, but a 13-5 run that started at 12:13 and put Buffalo State up 74-64, proved to be key for the Bengals.
• The closest the Red Dragons would get was 80-72 with 3:45 left in the game.
• Buffalo State finished the game shooting 50.7 percent from the floor, 36.4 percent from long range and 58.3 percent from the free throw line.

FOR THE FOES

• Oneonta finished the game shooting 44.8 percent from the floor, 34.6 percent from long range and 65.4 percent from the free throw line.
• Coleman led the Red Dragons with a double-double, tallying 24 points and 17 rebounds. Mikey Mcelroy added 20 points, while Jack Dignan had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.

NOTEWORTHY

• Buffalo State celebrated Senior Day on Saturday. Congratulations goes out to Marmolejos, Akeem Williams (White Plains/White Plains), Derrick Fernandez (Bronx/Herbert H. Lehman) and Luke Jenkins (Slingerlands/Bethlehem) who all played in their final home game as a Bengal.

UP NEXT

Buffalo State returns to action for SUNYAC quarterfinals on Tuesday. Opponent and location TBD.