The Potsdam Bears defeated Buffalo State in Tuesday’s first round of the SUNYAC play-offs by a final score of 89-73. The Bears improve to 23-3 on the season, while Buff St. drops to 10-15. Potsdam was down by 6 points three times during the first half and came back to tie it at 39 going into the half. The Bears took the lead on a 3 pointer by Ernst Ducena (Brooklyn/Midwood) with 16:27 remaining and never looked back from there. Ducena led all scorers in the game with 21 points, shooting 7-10 from behind the arc. Christian Turner (Central/Central Square) followed with 18 points, while Edane Barton (Spring Valley/Colgate U.) finished with a double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 boards. Jim Connelly (Cayuga/Union Springs) added 12 points.
Buff St. was led by Jeremy Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East) and Jay Wingate (Henrietta/Rush-Henrietta) who both recorded 17 points. Jay Newton(Jamestown/Jamestown) added 9 for Buff. St.
Potsdam advances to the second round at the Utica Memorial Auditorium to face Plattsburgh, who defeated Brockport in the first round 81-77. The semi-final game is scheduled to start on Friday at 8pm. The Bears lead the season series against Plattsburgh 1-0, defeating Plattsburgh 66-52 at Plattsburgh on January 25th.