BUFFALO – In front of a 2,500-person Buffalo State Sports Arena crowd, the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team was unable to overcome a relentless Buffalo State defense in the Hawks' 94-79 loss to the Bengals on Friday evening in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action.
 
Buffalo State forced New Paltz into 24 turnovers, 18 of which were caused directly by Bengal defenders. The difference in the game came in the turnover battle, as New Paltz outshot Buffalo State by a 51.7 percent-to-48.8 percent margin from the field, and the Bengals held a slight 38-37 edge in rebounds.
 
New Paltz drops to 4-19 overall (3-14 SUNYAC) and closes out its season tomorrow afternoon at SUNY Fredonia at 4 p.m. Buffalo State rises to 14-10 overall (8-9 SUNYAC) with the victory and hosts SUNY Oneonta in a must-win game for both teams tomorrow at 4 p.m. The winner of that Buffalo State-Oneonta contest will earn the final spot in the six-team SUNYAC Tournament.
 
New Paltz jumped out to its usual hot start on the shoulders of senior guard/forward R.J. Rosa (North Branch, N.Y./Sullivan West), with a Rosa layup drawing the Hawks within one (22-21) midway through the first half. Buffalo State scored six unanswered points before junior forward Andrew Seniuk (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) knocked down a 3-pointer, but a 12-1 Bengal spurt staked the home team to a double-digit lead. Buffalo State continued to swell the advantage and entered halftime with a 52-30 lead.
 
Buffalo State led by as many as 35 points in the second half and held a commanding advantage throughout the period, but the Hawks closed the game on a 6-0 run to cut the Bengals' margin of victory to 15.
 
Rosa keyed the Hawk attack with 23 points off 9-of-16 shooting from the floor, while freshman guard/forward Joseph Ivin (Hackettstown, N.J./Hackettstown) netted a career-high 12 points off 5-of-7 shooting in just 11 minutes of reserve duty. Junior forward Brandon Guest (Washingtonville, N.Y./Washingtonville) provided a solid stat line with seven points, six rebounds and four assists, while freshman guard Matt Misser (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) doled out five assists.
 
Buffalo State received a virtuoso performance from junior guard Lovell Smith, who collected 35 points off 16-of-25 shooting from the floor and 3-of-3 shooting from the free-throw line. Smith also came within striking distance of the elusive quadruple-double, finishing with eight rebounds, seven steals and six assists. Junior guard Nico McLean and junior forward Leon Moise added 16 and 10 points, respectively.