CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior Lamard Herron (Westbury) scored 25 points, 22 in the second half, and added four assists, two blocks and three steals as Cortland opened SUNYAC play with a 78-69 win over visiting Buffalo State.

Junior Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) added 15 points and eight rebounds and freshman James Morales (Mount Kisco/Fox Lane) scored 11 points for the Red Dragons, who improved to 5-0 overall with the victory. Freshman Justin Prendergast (Monroe/Monroe-Woodbury) and senior Matt McGowan (Lake George) – Cortland's two centers – combined for 15 points and 12 rebounds in 40 minutes. Prendergast finished with eight points, five rebounds and two blocks and McGowan had seven points and seven rebounds.

Chris Thompson led Buffalo State (1-2, 0-1 SUNYAC) with 20 points and 10 rebounds. He made 10-of-15 shots from the field. Larry Rivers scored 11 points.

Cortland outscored the Bengals 20-5 on the foul line as it made 20-of-30 free throws compared to 5-of-9 accuracy for the guests. Buffalo State finished at 44 percent field-goal shooting to Cortland's 40 percent, with both teams struggling from the 3-point arc (2-of-10 for Buffalo State and 4-of-21 for Cortland).

Cortland led 24-18 on a McGowan layup with seven minutes left in the first half, but the Bengals went on a 13-3 run and led 31-27 with 2:21 remaining. Buffalo State held a 33-31 halftime lead, and was still up 45-44 with 13:52 left in the game following a Lovell Smith layup.

The Red Dragons mounted a 15-4 run over the next six minutes, starting with a McGowan 3-point play and an Estarfaa 3-pointer. The Bengals countered with layups by Jordan Glover and Luke Jenkins to pull within a point, but the Red Dragons used McGowan and Estarfaa layups, a Herron layup and a Herron 3-pointer to take a 59-49 lead.

Buffalo State got within five on three occasions, the last with 17 seconds left, but Herron and Estarfaa each hit a pair of free throws to finish the scoring.

Cortland will host Fredonia Saturday at 2 p.m.