BUFFALO, NY—Nationally-ranked No. 19 Buffalo State (1-0) maintained a frantic pace from the opening tip to the final buzzer en route to setting a new single-game scoring record in a 141-93 victory over visiting D'Youville (0-1) in the non-conference season opener in front of a raucous crowd of 1,101 tonight at the Sports Arena.
The previous single-game scoring record was 138 points against Marietta in 2005. The Bengals also tied a school record with 57 field goals, and the 234 combined points set another new school mark.
All 16 Bengals scored, led by Jake Simmons (Rochester/School of the Arts) with 23 points and five steals, and senior Ahmed Nagaya (Bronx/Astor Collegiate) added a career-best 23 points as well, to go with six rebounds and three blocks. Three other Bengals scored in double-figures with freshman Roderick Epps (Uniondale/Uniondale) scoring 14, Stephen Alexander (Rosedale/Flushing) netting 13, and Justin Mitchell (Buffalo/Bishop Timon) adding 12. Norman Simmons (Rochester/East) chipped in eight points, eight assists and three steals.
Raysean Johnson (Buffalo/Grover Cleveland) led D'Youville with 25 points and eight boards. Jeff Curry (Buffalo/Lafayette) added 19 points, and Kevin Ford (Buffalo/Amherst) added 16.
Buffalo State led wire-to-wire, exploding out of the gates to take a 27-7 lead less than six minutes into the game. The Bengals led 69-46 at halftime and pushed the lead to as many as 58 points in the second stanza. Buffalo State shot 61-percent from the field for the game, compared to 36-percent by the Spartans. The two teams combined to shoot 71 free throws. D'Youville committed 34 turnovers, and Buffalo State had 21.
Prior to the game, Buffalo State was recognized for winning its 18th SUNYAC championship in 2010-11 and making a run to the NCAA "Sweet 16". Jake Simmons was also honored for becoming the 19th player in school history to score 1,000 career points, which he accomplished in the final game last season as just a sophomore.
Buffalo State will return to action at home again next Tuesday with another non-conference game against Pitt-Bradford at 8 p.m.