POTSDAM, N.Y.—The SUNY Potsdam men's basketball team (1-9, 1-2 SUNYAC) stormed back in the second half against Buffalo State (9-2, 3-1) before falling 84-78 on Friday night. Freshman guard Dante Langley (Schuylerville, N.Y./Schuylerville) scored a career-high 26 points, while seniors Joe Estramonte (Greenwich, N.Y./Greenwich) and Mitch Lamerson (Dansville, N.Y./Dansville) added 15 and 12, respectively. Sophomore guard Mike Henry (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee) led the Bengals with 23 points and nine rebounds and senior guard Kevin Marmolejos (Woodhaven, N.Y./Beach Channel) totaled 18 on 4-of-9 shooting from behind the arc.
 
Buffalo State slowly built a 20-10 lead over the first 10 minutes of the contest, before Potsdam answered. Freshman forward Vincent Smythe (Brentwood, N.Y./Brentwood) scored on a layup followed by an Estramonte 3-pointer and a Langley bucket to close the gap to 22-17 with 8:55 to play in the half. Langley drained a three of his own to close the gap to 24-20 just over two minutes later, but the Bengals closed the opening 20 minutes with a 16-6 stretch.
 
The Bears were the better team in the second half, outscoring Buffalo State 52-44. The Bengals extended their lead to 49-32 at 16:50, for their largest advantage of the game. A layup from Lamerson and four straight points from freshman forward Serigne Kane (Brooklyn, N.Y./Brooklyn Prep) created a 6-0 spurt for the Potsdam. Henry and junior forward Lovell Smith (Buffalo, N.Y./McKinley) built the lead back 53-38 with 12:03 left, but then the Bears went to work. Over the next five minutes, the Potsdam created on a 15-5 run. Freshman forward Tyrone Adeyeye (Brooklyn, N.Y./Benjamin Banneker) sparked the Bears with a steal and a dunk at 10:11 to make it a 53-44. Sophomore forward Josh Blagrove (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop) knocked down an open three to trim the deficit nine at 8:56. Blagrove followed it with a layup and Langley sank to free throws in the next two minutes to get the Bears within 58-53. Buffalo State's advantage hovered between 5-10 points over the next four minutes, thanks in part to more clutch shooting from Potsdam and Adeyeye's second dunk at 5:43. Two free throws from junior guard Jordan Glover (Buffalo, N.Y./St. Joe's) gave the Bengals a 76-66 lead with 50 seconds remaining. Langley and Estramonte 3-pointers kept the Bears in striking distance, but the Bengals hit eight of their last 10 free throws to seal the six-point win.
 
Blagrove narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and eight boards. Glover posted 11 points and nine assists for Buffalo State, while junior forward Jordan Chateau (Bayside, N.Y./Lowell) finished with eight points and eight rebounds.
 
The Bengals edged Potsdam in shooting percentage, 43.9-40.8 and in rebounds, 42-40.
 
The young Bears look to build off a promising contest when they face SUNY Fredonia tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m.