BUFFALO, NY – Chris Cartwright (Binghamton, NY/Binghamton) scored 19 points and pulled down five rebounds to help lead Buffalo State (9-6, 5-4 SUNYAC) to its fifth straight victory, defeating Oneonta (6-8, 3-4 SUNYAC) 71-59 in a SUNYAC matchup on Friday night at Buffalo State Sports Arena.

Cartwright led the way on offense, while Chris Thompson (Far Rockaway, NY/Channel View) recorded his seventh career double-double with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. Kevin Marmolejos (Woodhaven, NY/Beach Channel) and Roderick Epps (Uniondale, NY/Uniondale) each tallied 11 points. Derrick Fernandez (Bronx, NY/Herbert H. Lehman) finished the game with seven assists, two steals and six rebounds.

The game remained close in the first half. Throughout the first 20 minutes of play, there were six score ties and five lead changes. Cartwright hit two free throws and a fast break layup to help the Bengals get out to their largest lead of the half, 24-18, at 5:33.

Oneonta came back, hitting a three and tying the game with 2:34 on the clock. Buffalo State would push its lead back out to four, but a layup from the Red Dragons with 26 seconds remaining cut the Bengals lead to two point, 34-32, heading into halftime.

Midway through the second half, Oneonta managed to get out to a four point lead, 43-39. The Bengals quickly responded, however, going on a 16-4 run to take over the lead, 57-47, with just under six minutes remaining. In the final minutes of the game, the closest the Red Dragons would come to the Bengals was five points.

Buffalo State finished the game shooting 35.7 percent from the floor, 26.3 percent from behind the arc and 72.7 percent (16-of-22) from the free throw line. The Bengals also held a 52-49 advantage in rebounds and tallied 16 fast break points.

Buffalo State returns to action at home again Saturday for another SUNYAC matchup at 2 p.m. against New Paltz.