CORTLAND — Lovell Smith (Buffalo/McKinley) tallied 18 points and nine rebounds and visiting fifth-seeded Buffalo State limited No. 4 Cortland to its second-lowest offensive output of the season in a 61-59 victory tonight in a SUNYAC quarterfinal contest.
Smith was 9 of 15 from the field in 39 minutes of play. Mike Henry (Syracuse/West Genesee) added a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Glover (Buffalo/St. Joe’s) had nine points on three 3-pointers, and Jordan Chateau (Bayside/Lowell) chipped in five points and eight rebounds off the bench. Neither team could create any separation in the first half as Cortland closed the opening 20 minutes with a 28-25 advantage. The Red Dragons struck first in the second half, but the Bengals responded with a 13-2 run to take a five-point lead and never trailed the rest of the way. The Bengals twice pushed the lead to eight, including with three minutes remaining.
Buffalo State would just score one point in the final 3:19 to allow Cortland to stay within striking distance. Henry hit 1 of 2 free throws with 45 seconds left before the Red Dragons nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 61-59 with 34 seconds left. After Glover missed the first half of a 1-and-1, Cortland had the ball down two with 27 seconds remaining. The Bengals played tight defense and Cortland’s only shot came in the form of a deep 3-point attempt with four seconds remaining that went begging and allowed the Bengals to claim the victory. Both teams shot 37 percent from the field. Buffalo State was just 5 of 24 from 3-point range and the Red Dragons hit just 4 of 18 from beyond the arc. The Bengals owned the glass, outrebounding Cortland, 46-33, including an 18-6 advantage on the offensive boards.
Buffalo State will advance to the SUNYAC semifinals at top-seeded Oswego on Friday at 7:30 p.m. No. 3 Oneonta knocked off No. 6 Geneseo in today’s other quarterfinal, and will face No. 2 Brockport in Friday’s other semifinal at 5:30 p.m. The winners will meet in Saturday’s title game at 4 p.m. in Oswego.
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