HAMBURG, NY – The Buffalo State men's basketball team dropped their opening game of the season tonight against the Hilbert Hawks with a final score of 71-69 at Brad Hafner Recreation Center.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Hilbert – 71, Buffalo State – 69
LOCATION: Brad Hafner Recreation Center – Hamburg, NY
RECORDS: Hilbert: 1-0 (0-0 AMCC), Buffalo State: 0-1 (0-0 SUNYAC)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Nate Severson (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg) led the Bengals with 19 points in his Buffalo State debut while also shooting 6-7 from three-point range.
- Bryce Williams (Jamaica, NY/Campus Magnet) chipped in 15 points while Maley McCurty (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) had a team-high nine rebounds.
- McCurty also tallied 10 points for the Bengals.
- As a team, the Bengals were 14-18 (77%) from the free throw line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Hawks came out aggressive scoring six unanswered points to open the night.
- Buffalo State chipped away at the Hawks eventually knotting things at 16-all.
- The Bengals eventually grew to a lead of six before Hilbert responded and ended the half with five unanswered points to take a 35-30 lead into halftime.
- Buffalo State stayed in the action in the second half as the Hawks' lead shrunk to just one.
- Williams tied things at 65-all with just over three minutes to go, then Williams scored again with less than a minute to go to give the Bengals the lead.
- After a Buffalo State foul, Hilber was able to tie the game a pair of free throws before hitting a jumper as time expired to earn the win.
FOR THE FOES
- Shaheem Ellis had 28 points for the Hawks.
- Larry Morse had a double-double performance with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
UP NEXT
The Bengals will battle either Lycoming or Franciscan tomorrow in the consolation game of the Hilbert Tournament.
