NEW PALTZ, NY – The Buffalo State men's basketball team fell, 65-54, to the New Paltz Hawks on the road.

GAME BASICS

FINAL SCORE: New Paltz – 65, Buffalo State – 54
LOCATION: Hawk Center – New Paltz, NY
RECORDS: Buffalo State: 7-12 (3-9 SUNYAC), New Paltz: 10-11 (8-6 SUNYAC)

INSIDE THE BENGAL BOX SCORE

• Chisom Ani (Elmont, NY/John Browne) led the Bengals with 14 points, going 6-10 from the field and 2-5 from the free throw line. Ani also led the Bengals in the rebounding department, picking up nine boards.
• Zee Johnson (Rochester, NY/Greece Athena) added ten points in support for the Bengals.
• The Bengals shot 31.5% from the field, 3.8% from three, and 46.7% from the free-throw line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• After a thrilling buzzer-beater victory over the Fredonia Blue Devils in their last outing, the Bengals returned to action as they traveled to New Paltz in a battle against the Hawks.
• In the first half, both sides would use the opening minutes to get a feel for how the other would attack, as they would hit double digits late in the period. After tying this matchup at the seven-minute marker of play, the Bengals take a three-point lead over the Hawks, with momentum on their side. However, the Hawks would finish half strong, taking a four-point lead over the Bengals heading into halftime.
• In the second half, the Bengals would try to will their way in this matchup, trading baskets with the Hawks at the top of the half. A lull of play saw the Bengals struggle to hit shots midway through the half, making their comeback harder in this bout. Trailing by two possessions, the Bengals looked to push the Hawks to the finish…but again, shots were hard to come by for the Bengals in this one, falling short of the comeback and dropping their SUNYAC bout against the Hawks.

FOR THE FOES

• LaMar Matthews led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds.
• As a team, the Hawks shot 43.1% from the field, 40.0% from beyond the arc, and 75.0% from the free-throw line.

UP NEXT
The Bengals will return to action tomorrow afternoon, traveling to SUNY Oneonta to take on the Red Dragons at 4:00 PM.