BUFFALO, NY – The Buffalo State men's basketball team defeated the Fredonia Blue Devils, 51-50, at the buzzer to finish off a season sweep in the 'Battle by the Lake' rivalry series.

GAME BASICS

FINAL SCORE: Buffalo State – 51, Fredonia – 50
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 7-11 (3-8 SUNYAC), Fredonia: 2-16 (2-9 SUNYAC)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Oryan DeJesus (Schenectady, NY/ Mekeel Christian Academy) led all scorers with 14 points, going 4-8 from the field and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. Brendyn Cheng (Huntington, NY/Commack) and Zee Johnson (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) each finished with nine points.
• DeJesus and Chisom Ani (Elmont, NY/John Browne) each pulled down seven boards to lead the Bengals in rebounds, while DeJesus and Jacob Opare (Bronx, NY/St Raymond) each tallied four assists.
• The Bengals shot 37.0% from the field, 14.8% from three, and 70.0% from the line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Closing out a 'Battle by the Lake' doubleheader, the Bengals looked to finish not only a home court sweep of the Blue Devils, but a season sweep after winning on the Blue Devils home court earlier in the season.
• A low-scoring first half from both sides forced a defensive matchup throughout the beginning of the half. As both sides looked to find an edge to run away in this bout, baskets just wouldn't fall, as the midway point saw the Bengals up by five points with only 19 total points. A final stretch in the half saw the Blue Devils bring this matchup within one possession, but the Bengals would hit a basket late to close out the first half with a five-point lead heading into halftime.
• After trading baskets to start the second half, the Bengals would find some rhythm with an 8-0 run to take a double-digit lead over the Blue Devils. However, the Blue Devils wouldn't go out without a fight, answering back with a 9-0 run to bring this matchup back within two possessions. As the final seconds ticked away in the bout, the Blue Devils would hit a go-ahead basket with 14 seconds remaining…with the Bengals hanging on by a thread. But 14 seconds was all that was needed, with the Bengals holding the ball and Opare finding some room to knock down the game-winning basket, giving the Bengals the season sweep and the doubleheader sweep of the Blue Devils!

FOR THE FOES

• Stevie Williams led the Blue Devils with 12 points, while Kofo Laditan led the Blue Devils with seven rebounds.
• As a team, the Blue Devils shot 36.5 from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc, and 58.3% from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
The Bengals will enjoy this win this week before returning to action next Friday, when they travel to New Paltz to battle the Hawks at 7:30 PM.