(BOX SCORE)

BUFFALO, NY—Jake Simmons (Rochester/School for the Arts) netted a game-high 22 points to lift Buffalo State (19-6) to a 75-56 Cortland (10-16) in a SUNYAC Quarterfinal matchup tonight at the Sports Arena.

Buffalo State's current nine-game winning streak is the school's longest since winning 15 in a row in 1994-95. The Bengals will make their first appearance in the SUNYAC Semis since the 2002-03 season when they captured their last conference title.

Justin Mitchell (Buffalo/Timon) chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds for the Bengals, and Chris Cartwright (Binghamton/Binghamton) and Norman Simmons (Rochester/East) had nine points each.

Jesse Winter (Rockville Ctr./South Side) led Cortland with 18 points and four assists. Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge) scored 12 points, and Harrison Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Acad.) added 10 off the bench.

Buffalo State raced out to a 12-0 lead less than four minutes into the game. The lead swelled to as many as 20 in the first half before taking a 32-16 lead into the intermission. Cortland cut the deficit to 10 on several occasions in the second frame, but could not pull any closer, and Buffalo State outscored the Red Dragons 20-11 over the final 7:11.

Buffalo State dominated the glass, holding a 49-32 rebounding advantage, and outscored Cortland 36-18 in the paint. After going 0 for 9 from 3-point range in the first half, Cortland hung around, connecting on 6 of 19 in the second half.

Buffalo State will advance to Friday's SUNYAC semifinals to face Plattsburgh at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will advance to Saturday's title game at 4 p.m. against the winner of Oswego/Brockport. Top-seeded Oswego will host the entire Final Four.