Box Score

BUFFALO – Buffalo State (14-3, 7-3 SUNYAC) shot 55.1 percent (43-of-78) from the field, pinning a 95-67 setback on the State University of New York at New Paltz men's basketball team (6-10, 3-7 SUNYAC) on Friday night at the Buffalo State Sports Arena in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action.

The Hawks shot just 39.3 percent (22-of-56) from the floor in comparison, and New Paltz turned the ball over 25 times to Buffalo State's seven giveaways. New Paltz did, however, shoot 87.5 percent (14-of-16) from the free-throw line, while Buffalo State took just five foul shots and made two. The Hawks held a slight edge on the glass (37-36) as well. The Bengal bench accounted for 40 of the team's 95 points, and Buffalo State scored 64 points in the paint.

New Paltz was led by junior forward Matt Devine (Manalapan, N.J./Freehold Township), who scored a game-high 24 points off 8-of-14 shooting from the floor—including a 4-of-7 mark from long range—and 4-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line. Senior guard/forward Harris Wichard (Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK) chipped in with 20 points, while senior guard Jermain Wallace (Spring Valley, N.Y./Silver Bluff) scored nine. Devine grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, while Wichard handed out a team-high four assists.

For Buffalo State, five players reached double figures and 13 different Bengals scored. Jake Simmons and Roderick Epps paced the attack with 15 points apiece, with Epps' total coming in 16 minutes as a reserve. Ahmed Nagaya and Anyar Majak pitched in 12 points apiece, while Norman Simmons dropped in 10. Maurice Miles led the team in rebounds with eight coming off the bench, and Simmons sparked the offense with a game-high eight assists.

New Paltz hopped out to an early lead, and a layup by freshman forward/center Alan Siergiej (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph by-the-Sea) at 16:37 of the first half gave the Hawks an 11-4 cushion. The Bengals, however, countered with a 9-0 run to gain the advantage. The two teams traded buckets until Buffalo State went on a 10-0 run, and a Nagaya layup on a fastbreak pushed the Bengal lead to 11 (38-27). Buffalo State held on to the momentum and entered the locker room with a 45-34 edge.

An 11-0 spurt to start the second half vaulted the Bengals to a 24-point lead, and from that point forward, they never looked back. New Paltz could not cut the gap any smaller than 21 the remainder of the contest.

The Hawks look to end their five-game skid tomorrow against conference foe SUNY Fredonia in Fredonia, N.Y. Opening tip is set for 4 p.m.