Buffalo State Season Ends at Brockport in SUNYAC Quarterfinals, 89-83
BROCKPORT, NY— Jake Simmons (Rochester/School of the Arts) scored 30 points for the third-consecutive game, but the end result was the same as Buffalo State (18-9) saw its season come to an end with an 89-83 loss to the fourth-seeded host Brockport (14-12) in a SUNYAC Quarterfinal game tonight at the Jim and John Vlogianitis Gym.
Simmons led the fifth-seeded Bengals with 30 points on 11 of 22 shooting, despite going 2 of 9 from 3-point range. He also added five steals. Four other Buffalo State players scored in double-digits, including Nico McLean (Amherst/Amherst) who had 16 points and nine rebounds. Roderick Epps (Uniondale/Uniondale) and Ahmed Nagaya (Bronx/Astor Collegiate) netted 13 points each, and Norman Simmons (Rochester/East) had 11 points and five assists.
John Ivy led Brockport with 25 points, and Kyheem Green had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Donnell Jackson added 15 points, and Lance Legister chipped in 10.
Brockport jumped out to a 23-11 lead, but Buffalo State turned up the pace in the second half of the opening period to even the score at 34-34 heading into the intermission. Brockport never trailed in the second half, however. The Golden Eagles slowly built another 12-point lead in the second half at 71-59 with 6:45 remaining. The Bengals mounted another surge and used a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to just three at 86-83 with 23 seconds to play, but the Golden Eagles hit 3 of 4 free throws in the closing seconds to ice the game.
Buffalo State outscored Brockport 46-28 in the paint and converted 25 Brockport turnovers into 26 points, but the Bengals were unable to stay out of foul trouble. The Golden Eagles outscored Buffalo State 34-15 from the line, as Brockport connected on 34 of 43 trips to the charity stripe. The Bengals finished 15 of 24 at the line.
Buffalo State's season came to a close with five losses in its final six games. Brockport advances to Friday's SUNYAC semifinals against top-seeded host Oswego.
