HAMBURG, NY – The Buffalo State men's basketball team picked up their first win of the 2024-25 season, 69-63, over Lycoming College in the Hilbert Tournament.
GAME BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 69, Lycoming College – 63
LOCATION: Brad Hafner Recreation Center – Hamburg, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 1-1 (0-0 SUNYAC), Lycoming College: 0-2 (0-0 Landmark)
INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE
- Bryce Williams (Jamaica, NY/Campus Magnet) led the Bengals in scoring with 17 points. Zee Johnson (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
- Johnson and Chisom Ani (Elmont, NY/John Browne) cleaned up the boards for the Bengals with eight for Johnson and seven for Ani, respectively.
- The Bengals shot 43.9% from the floor, while going 69.6% from the free-throw line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Entering the consolation game after a tough loss against Hilbert College, the Bengals looked to finish out this tournament in a strong fashion. This would be proven true, as the Bengals got up early on the Warriors, taking a 12-point lead in the first half. The Bengals would extend that lead to 19 as the first half drew to a close, but a late push by the Warriors would only give the Bengals a nine-point lead as they entered halftime.
- In the second half, the Bengals came out a bit slow, as the Warriors chipped away bringing the lead to only three points. But credit to Coach Berkun and his staff, as the Bengals adjusted well to the Warriors pressure, extending their lead back to 12 points. This would be the distance needed, as the Bengals would hold strong to another late Warriors push and win this game by six, 69-63.
- The Bengals bench outscored the Warriors bench, 28 to 11, while also outscoring the Warriors in fast break points, 10 to 7.
- This win marks win number one for new Head Coach Mike Berkun and his staff…congratulations!
FOR THE FOES
- Isaiah Valentine led the Warriors with 20 points, on 13 shots.
- Ivan Komitski led the Warriors in rebounds with eight.
UP NEXT
The Bengals will stay on the road, traveling down to Utica as they battle the Utica University Pioneers, Wednesday, November 13
th at 7:00 P.M.
