FREDONIA, NY— Nico McLean (Amherst/Amherst) scored 19 points and had six steals and Buffalo State (18-5/11-5) overcame a 10-point second-half deficit  to claim a 70-67 victory over host Fredonia (13-9/8-8) in a SUNYAC contest tonight at Steele Hall.

Ahmed Nagaya (Bronx/Astor Collegiate) chipped in 14 points, and Roderick Epps (Uniondale/Uniondale) added 13.  The Bengals leading scorer for the season, Jake Simmons (Rochester/School of the Arts) was limited to just seven points, 13 fewer than his average.

After leading by one at the intermission, Fredonia extended its lead to 48-38 less than five minutes into the second half.  The Bengals responded with a 9-0 run to pull right back in the game, and then the teams traded the lead back-and-forth until Buffalo State finally went ahead for good with 1:34 remaining. 

Fredonia trailed 68-67, but had the ball looking for a final shot when it was called for an offensive foul with six seconds remaining.  After a foul on the ensuing inbound, the Bengals hit a pair of free throws, and a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer went begging.

Fredonia outrebounded Buffalo State, 39-26, but the Bengals forced 20 turnovers by the Blue Devils, while committing just 11

Buffalo State will travel to No. 16 Oswego this Friday for and 8 p.m. tipoff.