Hobart (3-0) led from start to finish in the first half, scoring the final five points of the session—a 3-pointer by first-year Thomas Campion and a pair of free throws by junior guard Trey Blanding—to take a 45-34 lead into halftime. A 6-3 spurt to start the second half stretched the Statesmen lead to 51-37.

Hobart still had a double digit lead with 10:51 remaining in the contest, but the Bengals (2-3) outscored Hobart 18-7 over the next five minutes. Lovell Smith's layup tied the game at 68 with 6:42 left. Justin Smith made a pair of free throws at the 5:10 mark to give Buffalo State its first lead of the night.

Jordan Rey's 3-pointer with 2:52 to go put the Bengals up 79-78. It was the home team's final lead of the contest. Hobart reclaimed the lead at the other end of the floor with Blanding feeding senior forward Richie Bonney for a layup. Junior guard Connor Rehbaum came up with a steal to stifle Buffalo State's offense and then got the ball to Bonney, whose traditional 3-point play gave Hobart an 84-79 lead.

Smith and Justin Mitchell followed with baskets for the Bengals to cut it to a 1-point game. Mitchell had a shot at a 3-point play, but missed the shot from the charity stripe. Hobart grabbed the rebound, forcing Buffalo State to foul. Blanding made the second of his two free throws to complete the night's scoring with 35 seconds left. The Bengals missed a 3-pointer for the lead with four seconds to go, marking the final shot of the game.

Blanding made two of Hobart's five 3-pointers and sank a career-high 12 free throws on 17 chances. Bonney notched a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Senior guard Joe Gibbons added 16 points and Rehbaum chipped in 12 points and six boards. First-year forward Zach Grattan contributed eight points, all in the second half, and 12 rebounds, both season-highs.

Mitchell led five Buffalo State players in double figures with 22 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. Smith scored 14 points. Chris Thompson added 13 points and nine rebounds before fouling out with 3:45 left in the game. Roderick Epps and Bradley Doyley recorded 12 points and 10 points, respectively.

Hobart was outshot from the floor, 40.6 percent to 42 percent, but made two more 3-pointers and 16 more free throws to make up the difference. The Statesmen also held a slim 49-47 rebounding edge.

Hobart will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 4, when the Statesmen compete in the first round of the Wendy's College Classic. The 8-team tournament pairings will be announced on Dec. 1.