LEWISTON, NY – Senior
Sheldon Adams (Rochester, NY/Bishop Kearney) found his shooting touch to the tune of 18 points, but Division I Niagara University was too strong for the Buffalo State men's basketball team, who fell in the 2021 finale by a 112-52 score from Gallagher Arena Sunday afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Niagara U – 112, Buffalo State – 52
LOCATION: Gallagher Arena – Lewiston, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State (1-8), Niagara U (4-6)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Adams scored 15 first-half points, finishing with a game-high 18 points, adding two steals.
- Robert Richards (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South) added seven points and a team-best five rebounds.
- Daron Hughey (Hartford, CT/The Masters School), Matt Parkinson (Springfield Gardens, NY/John Bowne), and Argjend Imeri (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) each chipped in six points.
- The Bengals shot 30.6 percent (22-of-72) from the field and 25 percent (8-of-32) from beyond the arc.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Adams was hot from the start for the Bengals, scoring seven of the team's first nine points of the game.
- After the Bengals took a 5-4 lead, Justin Roberts and Jordan Cintron keyed a 17-4 run, as they led 21-9 at the 15-minute mark.
- Niagara slowly built its lead from there, as the Purple Eagle second unit stretched the lead past 20 points.
- Greg Kuakumensah converted on a layup with under a minute to go, as Niagara had its biggest lead (28) heading into the half, up 60-32.
- Niagara scored the first eight points of the second half, stretching its lead to 36, before Hughey ended it with a 3-pointer.
- The Purple Eagles broke the 100-point barrier at the 5:11 mark, and eventually wrapped the game with a 7-2 run in the final 1:43.
FOR THE FOES
- Six Purple Eagles scored in double figures, including Roberts, who scored 17 points, all in the first half.
- Hammond added 14 points and five assists.
- Julian Mackey added 12 points and four steals.
- Niagara shot 61.3 percent (46-of-75) from the field and the reserves outscored their Bengal counterparts by a 62-19 margin.
- The Purple Eagles also tallied 66 points in the paint and scored 18 points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
Buffalo State will begin its holiday break, returning to action in 2022 as the Bengals host the University of Rochester from the Buffalo State Sports Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 5.
