(BOX SCORE)

OSWEGO, NY—Second-seeded Buffalo State (20-6) knocked off No. 3 Plattsburgh (17-10), 87-79, in the first SUNYAC semifinal this evening at Oswego's Max Ziel Gymnasium. The Bengals advance to tomorrow's championship for the first time since winning their 17th conference title in 2003.

Buffalo State also pushed its winning streak to 10 games, the longest for the program in 16 years, and the Bengals also recorded their first 20-win season since 1996-97.

Five Bengals scored in double-figures, led by Chris Cartwright (Binghamton/Binghamton) and
Justin Mitchell (Buffalo/Timon) with 20 points each. Cartwright added five assists and six rebounds, and Mitchell had eight rebounds and four assists. Jake Simmons (Rochester/School for the Arts) tossed in 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Norman Simmons (Rochester/East) had 12 points, eight boards and six assists, and Glenroy Carr (New York/Sweet Home) chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Chris Ruiz led Plattsburgh with 35 points. Steve Thomas added 19 points, and Errol Daniyan had 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Buffalo State trailed by seven early, but bounced back and led 40-34 at the intermission. The Bengals never let Plattsburgh come all the way back in the final 20 minutes. Buffalo State quickly pushed the lead to 11 points early in the second frame, but the Cardinals used an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to just one at 53-53 with 12:16 remaining. Buffalo State quickly built the advantage back to 10 and held on for the win.

Buffalo State overcame 16 turnovers by holding a plus-five rebounding edge. The Bengals connected on 7 of 21 3-pointers and also outscored the Cardinals in the paint, 44-26.

Buffalo State will stay in Oswego for tomorrow's championship game at 4 p.m. against No. 4 Brockport who upset top-seeded Oswego in the other semifinal.