BUFFALO, N.Y.— Michael Henry (Syracuse/W. Genesee) led Buffalo State with his second-straight double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Bengals held off Nazareth, 74-71, to claim the Coles Classic this evening at the Sports Arena.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 74, Nazareth - 71
LOCATION:  Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS:  Buffalo State (2-1), Nazareth (3-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Nico McLean (Buffalo/Amherst) added 19 points and four steals, and Redell Freeman (Rochester/Bishop Kearney) added 13 points, three assists and two steals in 22 minutes off the bench.  Jordan Glover (Buffalo/St. Joe's) hit four 3-pointers to add 12 points.
• Both teams' offenses sputtered in the early going with Nazareth holding a 7-2 lead eight minutes into the game.  With shooting woes on both ends of the court, Buffalo State took a 25-23 lead into halftime. 
• After trading the lead back and forth in the early parts of the second half, the Bengals started to push the pace and led by as many as eight at 54-46 with under nine minutes remaining.  The Golden Flyers responded with a 12-3 run to take a one-point lead with four minutes remaining, but a Kev Marmolejos (Woodhaven/Beach Channel) 3-pointer at the other end put Buffalo State back ahead.  After a brief tie, Glover hit back-to-back 3's and the Bengals never trailed again.  Nazareth got a put-back to cut the deficit to three with three seconds remaining, but the Bengals were able to run out the clock.
• Buffalo State produced 24 points off 25 Nazareth turnovers, while the Golden Flyers netted just 12 points off 18 Bengal miscues.  The Bengals also held a 21-6 scoring advantage from beyond the arc.  

 
FOR THE FOES

• Mitch Ford carried the Golden Flyers on his back with 34 points and 18 rebounds.
• Tyler Stenglein added 16 points.

 
THE CONSOLATION GAME

• Bluffton (2-1) used a 23-7 run in the first half to create distance and never looked back in an 87-65 victory over Villa Maria (3-6).
• Thayne Recker took control for Bluffton with 27 points and seven rebounds.  Austin Rohde and Martin Maksvytis chipped in 12 points each, and Jared Wentling added 11 points.
• Darius Huggins was the leading scorer for Villa Maria with 12 points, and Donte Campbell added 11.

 
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

• MVP: Nico McLean (Buffalo St.)
• ALL-TOURNEY: Michael Henry (Buffalo St.), Mitch Ford (Nazareth), Thayne Recker (Bluffton), Darius Huggins (Villa)

 
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will next host Hobart for a non-conference contest on Tuesday at 7 p.m.