ONEONTA, N.Y.— Three players tallied double-doubles, led by Liv LeBaron who finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, as Buffalo State escaped with a 73-69 win over host Oneonta to keep its playoff hopes alive.

THE BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 73, Oneonta – 69  

LOCATION: Dewar Arena – Oneonta, N.Y.

RECORDS: Buffalo State (12-12/6-11), Oneonta (17-5/11-4)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• LeBaron led the Bengals in scoring by shooting 4 of 9 from the 3-point line.
• Katie Villarini (Hamburg/Hamburg) matched a career-high with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Princella McCullough (Rochester/Bishop Keaney) added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
• Grace Licata (Williamsville/Williamsville South) tallied eight points and seven rebounds.
• After Oneonta opened the game by scoring the first five points to take an early lead, Buffalo State responded by closing the frame on a 7-3 run to trim the deficit to 14-12 after 10 minutes of action.
• The Bengals continued their momentum to start the second quarter by tallying a layup from McCullough and a 3-pointer from LeBaron to claim its first lead, 17-14 at the 7:34 mark of the stanza.
• Buffalo State maintained its slim lead for the remainder of the first half to take a 26-24 advantage into halftime and extended it 36-26 with just over six minutes left in the third frame by opening the stanza on a 10-2 run.
• Oneonta slowly chipped away at the lead until an old-fashion three-point play cut the deficit to 44-42 with 30 seconds left.
• Licata tallied one of her two 3-point field goals on the next possession to give Buffalo State a 47-42 lead at the final intermission.
• After a back-and-forth fourth quarter, the Bengals used a 3-pointer by LeBaron with 2:01 remaining in the contest to take a 64-55 lead.
• Oneonta chipped away at the lead until a 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 70-68, but Buffalo State closed the game with a pair of free throws by Villarini to escape with the win.
• The Bengals held a 52-40 advantage in rebounding while shooting 41 percent from the floor.

 FOR THE FOES

• Alexa Amalbert led the Red Dragons in scoring with 18 points to go along with four assists.
• Madeline Frank chipped in 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.  

UP NEXT                 

Buffalo State closes out its regular season next Saturday as it hosts Fredonia in a "Battle by the Lake" showdown at 2 p.m. The Bengals faces a must win and help in order to secure the sixth and final playoff spot in the SUNYAC playoff.