The Red Dragons (23-3) will face fourth-seeded SUNYIT in the semifinals Friday at 3 p.m. at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. Buffalo State finishes the season with a 13-13 record.
Ranieri made 12-of-14 shots from the floor and finished with 26 points. He also recorded four assists, six rebounds, and career highs of three blocks and four steals. Skrelja connected on 8-of-12 attempts from the field in a 21-point effort. Additionally, he led the Red Dragons with nine rebounds and five assists and blocked three shots.
Three other Red Dragons scored in double figures. Junior Rod Headley (Peekskill) totaled 16 points and six rebounds. He made 5-of-7 field goal attempts and all six of his free throws. Junior Dave Maggiacomo (Pleasant Valley/Arlington) connected on 3-of-6 three-pointers and finished with 12 points and five boards, while senior Scott Taggart (Sidney Center/Franklin) scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in just 13 minutes of action.
Cortland shot 67 percent from the floor (38-of-57), its best shooting performance in 17 seasons (the Red Dragons shot 79 percent in a win at Roberts Wesleyan on Jan. 5, 1989). Cortland’s 99 points are its highest total ever in a post-season game.
Five Buffalo State players scored in double figures, led by sophomore Dion Mozelle’s (Rego Park/Xaverian) 17 points. Junior Dante Griggs (Bronx/Chester Academy) scored 15 points, junior Charles Hepburn (Rochester/Greece Arcadia) and senior Gregg Jones (Syracuse/Nottingham) each finished with 11 points and senior Jobany Tirado (Syracuse/Corcoran) added 10 points off the bench. Mozelle, Griggs and Tirado each grabbed five rebounds.
Cortland never trailed, extending a 22-17 lead with 8:21 left in the first half to 32-17 with 5:14 left. The lead was at least 12 the rest of the game. Ranieri made 8-of-9 shots and scored 16 points in the opening half. His breakaway dunk with 2:39 left in the contest gave him 26 points, surpassing his previous career best of 25 set on two occasions.
Buffalo State vs SUNY Cortland 2/21/06 8 p.m. at Cortland, NY (Corey Gym) SUNY CORTLAND 99, BUFFALO STATE 84 BUFFALO STATE (13-13) MOZELLE, Dion 7-11 3-4 17; GRIGGS, Dante 6-10 3-4 15; HEPBURN, Charles 4-10 1-4 11; JONES, Gregg 3-11 3-4 11; TIRADO, Jobany 4-9 2-4 10; PAGAN, Luis 3-7 0-0 8; McNAIR, Lester 1-5 2-2 5; GUIDEN, Carlton 0-5 3-4 3; BUCZEK, Caleb 1-2 0-0 2; WILLIAMS, Von 1-1 0-1 2; LANGLEY, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; IRWIN, Anthony 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-72 17-27 84. SUNY CORTLAND (23-3) RANIERI, Frank 12-14 2-2 26; SKRELJA, Simon 8-12 5-9 21; HEADLEY, Rod 5-7 6-6 16; MAGGIACOMO, Dave 4-7 1-1 12; TAGGART, Scott 5-5 0-0 10; JUTTON, Dave 2-4 2-2 8; MIOLAN, Juan 1-2 1-2 3; SCHALLER, Mark 1-3 0-0 2; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-1 1-2 1; SARGENT, Joe 0-0 0-0 0; NALLS, Elbert 0-0 0-2 0; NIEHOFF, Carson 0-1 0-0 0; O'CONNELL, Bobby 0-1 0-0 0; MERRITT, Quentin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-57 18-26 99. Buffalo State................. 34 50 - 84 SUNY Cortland................. 48 51 - 99 3-point goals-Buffalo State 7-19 (PAGAN, Luis 2-4; HEPBURN, Charles 2-4; JONES, Gregg 2-5; McNAIR, Lester 1-3; GUIDEN, Carlton 0-3), SUNY Cortland 5-16 (MAGGIACOMO, Dave 3-6; JUTTON, Dave 2-4; MIOLAN, Juan 0-1; SCHALLER, Mark 0-1; JANKIEWICZ, Michael 0-1; NIEHOFF, Carson 0-1; O'CONNELL, Bobby 0-1; RANIERI, Frank 0-1). Fouled out--Buffalo State-GRIGGS, Dante; MOZELLE, Dion, SUNY Cortland-None. Rebounds-Buffalo State 33 (TIRADO, Jobany 5; MOZELLE, Dion 5; GRIGGS, Dante 5), SUNY Cortland 37 (SKRELJA, Simon 9). Assists-Buffalo State 13 (PAGAN, Luis 3), SUNY Cortland 18 (SKRELJA, Simon 5). Total fouls-Buffalo State 21, SUNY Cortland 20. A-629