FREDONIA, N.Y.—Buffalo State nearly erased a double-digit deficit in the final four minutes, but ultimately fell short in a 91-88 loss in a SUNYAC and "Battle by the Lake" contest tonight at Fredonia.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Fredonia – 91, Buffalo State - 88
LOCATION:  Steele Hall Fieldhouse – Fredonia, N.Y.
RECORDS: Fredonia (7-15/6-10), Buffalo State (13-10/7-9)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Kevin Marmolejos (Woodhaven/Beach Channel) led Buffalo State with 21 points, including five 3-pointers.
• Michael Henry (Syracuse/W. Genesee) had 19 points and 12 rebounds to go with six steals.
• Lovell Smith (Buffalo/McKinley) added 18 points.
• Nico McLean (Buffalo/Amherst) threatened a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and six steals.
• Buffalo State jumped out to a 12-2 lead and appeared poised to run away, but Fredonia responded to take a 24-23 lead and then led 44-42 at the intermission.
• Fredonia led by 10 on multiple occasions in the second half, including at 85-75 with four minutes remaining.
• Buffalo State cut the deficit to 87-85 with a 3-pointer by Marmolejos with 27 seconds remaining.  After forcing a 10-second backcourt violation, the Bengals made a layup to tie the game that was negated by a charging call. 
• After Fredonia hit both free throws to push the lead to four, Marmolejos nailed another 3 to close the deficit back to one with six seconds, but Fredonia completed the scoring with two more free throws with three seconds on the clock.
• The two teams combined to commit 58 turnovers, with 27 by the Bengals and 31 by Fredonia.

           
FOR THE FOES

• Ian Helps led Fredonia with 23 points and seven rebounds.
• Brandon Hodge added 20 points, while Kareem Brown scored 18, and Jared Fish had 10.

 
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will host a pair of SUNYAC games to close out the regular season against New Paltz and Oneonta next Friday and Saturday respectively.