NEW PALTZ, NY—Justin Mitchell (Buffalo/Timon) had 29 points and nine rebounds, and Buffalo State (11-9/7-6) overpowered host New Paltz (6-15/3-11) in the second half  for a 98-74 victory tonight in a SUNYAC game.

Mitchell shot 11 of 13 from the field and was 7 of 9 at the charity stripe.  Roderick Epps (Uniondale/Uniondale) added 20 points and four steals, while Jordan Glover (Buffalo/St. Joe's) netted 13 points to go with five assists.  Chris Thompson (Far Rockaway/Channel View) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and scored six points.

New Paltz took an early advantage and held its final lead of the game at 28-27 with about five minutes remaining in the first half.  The Bengals led 44-41 at the intermission and took over in the second half, outscoring the Hawks 54-33 over the final 20 minutes.

The Bengals shot 54-percent from the field and showed dramatic improvement at the free throw line, going 22 of 31 (71-percent).  New Paltz connected on just 42-percent from the field and was just 13 of 25 (52-percent) at the line.  Buffalo State also had a 44-36 rebounding advantage and forced 16 turnovers, while committing 12.

Buffalo State's two highest scoring games this season have each come against New Paltz with 98 tonight and 109 when the Hawks visited the Sports Arena in December.

Buffalo State will visit Oneonta for another SUNYAC game tomorrow at 4 p.m.