Reaves hit four of SUNYIT’s nine first-half three-pointers and scored 20 points in the opening stanza to pace the Wildcats to a 57-39 at the intermission. SUNYIT continued to dominate early in the second half, leading by as many as 23 points. After trailing 85-63 with 8:38 remaining, Buffalo State came to life and mounted a 19-3 run, cutting the deficit to just six at 88-82 with 1:45 remaining. The Bengals would come no closer, however. SUNYIT finished 14 of 24 from three-point range, but hit just 9 of 19 from the free throw line.
Reaves was 11 of 18 from the field, including 6 of 9 from long range, and added seven rebounds and six assists. Pat Whalen (Johnson City/Broome CC) added 19 points and five boards, and Chris Laboard (Bronx/MVCC) scored 18 points.
Jobany Tirado (Syracuse/Corcoran) and Gregg Jones (Syracuse/Nottingham) led Buffalo State with 17 points each. Dion Mozelle (Rego Park/Xaverian) added 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Dante Griggs (Bronx/Chester Acad.) had 13 points and 10 boards. Lester McNair (Ithaca/Ithaca) also scored 11 points.
Buffalo State slipped into the eighth spot in the conference and will play at No. 1 Cortland on Tuesday in a quarterfinal match-up at 8 p.m.