CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland led by as many as 19 points in the second half and used a 20-3 advantage in made free throws to hold on for a 90-72 win over visiting Buffalo State in tonight's SUNYAC contest.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Cortland – 90, Buffalo State – 72
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: Cortland (13-4/7-3), Buffalo State (4-12/2-8)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Dom Grayer (Brooklyn/Bishop Loughlin) led the Bengals in scoring with 18 points to go along with five rebounds.
- Kay Grant (Jamaica/Thomas Jefferson) tallied his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
- Zak Ciezki (Cheektowaga/Cheektowaga) matched a career-high with 13 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the 3-point line while Sheldon Adams (Rochester/Bishop Kearney) chipped in 11 points on 4 of 9 shooting.
- Cortland stormed out of the gates by scoring 11 of the first 14 points and extended the lead to 31-15 with 7:18 left in the first half.
- Buffalo State slowly chipped away at the lead over the next six minutes to trim the deficit to 38-29 on a 3-pointer by Grayer. The Red Dragons tacked on a late jumper to take a 42-31 lead into intermission.
- Cortland continued its momentum in the early minutes of the second stanza to extend the lead to 49-31 just under two minutes into the frame.
- The Bengals responded with a 30-9 run spanning over the next nine minutes and claimed its first lead since the 19:43 mark of the first half with a 3-pointer from Adams to take a 59-58 lead with 9:55 left in the contest.
- The Red Dragons weathered the run by calling a crucial timeout with 9:45 left as they shifted momentum, following the stoppage in play, by using a 21-7 run to take a 79-66 lead with 3:24 left in the contest.
- Ciezki completed a four-point play on Buffalo State's next possession to trim the lead to 79-70 with 2:56 remaining.
- Cortland scored 11 of the final 13 points to secure the win.
- Buffalo State held a 20-10 advantage in bench production while the Red Dragons finished with a 15-7 advantage in second-chance points.
FOR THE FOES
- Nicky Bonura led the Red Dragons with a game-high 33 points on 12 of 22 shooting.
- Justin Cooper finished with 31 points to go along with 12 rebounds, while Kenny Charles chipped in 10 points.
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will visit Oswego tomorrow for a 4 p.m. tip.
