BUFFALO, NY—Jake Simmons (Rochester/School of the Arts) finished one point shy of matching his career best, netting 42 points to lead Buffalo State (9-5/4-4) to an 87-85 victory over visiting Fredonia (5-9/1-7) in a SUNYAC game tonight at the Sports Arena. 

Simmons finished 14 of 19 from the field, including hitting 7 of 9 from 3-point range.  Senior center Seth Runge (Springville/Springville GI) added a career-best 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Roderick Epps (Uniondale/Uniondale) netted 13 points.

Zach Edwards (Duensburg/Schenectady CC) led four Blue Devils in double-figures with 21 points off the bench.  Tyrone Clark (Elmira/TCCC) had 22 points, while Amir Billups (Buffalo/Starpoint) scored 16, and Dalton Kashmer (S. Dayton/Pine Valley) had 14.

Fredonia led by as my as nine points in a frantic first half, but Buffalo State took the lead just before the break, pulling ahead 45-43 at the intermission.  Buffalo State never allowed the game to be tied in the second half, but never led by more than eight.  Fredonia cut the deficit to 87-85 with 20 second left and retained possession after an intentional foul.  Clark had a chance to tie the game, but his layup attempt went begging with eight second left.  After Runge missed a pair of free throws at the other end, Fredonia had another chance, but an errant pass by Clark sailed into the hands of Buffalo State's Brad Doyley (Brooklyn/HS of Sports Management) and he ran out the clock. 

The two teams combined to commit 52 fouls.  Buffalo State finished 22 of 30 at the charity stripe, and Fredonia hit 21 of 31 from the line.  The Bengals shot 47-percent from the field and 45-percent from long range, while the Blue Devils shot 52-percent and 50-percent from behind the arc.  The Bengals capitalized on 22 Fredonia turnovers, turning them into 24 points. 

Buffalo State will visit Brockport on Tuesday for an 8 p.m. tipoff.