A Quick Look
The SUNY Oneonta men's basketball team scored the final six points of today's contest enroute to a 76-70 victory against visiting Buffalo State.  The win for the Red Dragons pushes its overall record to 12-4 and 8-1 in the SUNYAC.
 
"Give Buffalo a lot of credit.  They never quit today," said Head Coach Cameron Conover.  "We were up close to 20 points, and they fought back and tied the game.   Our guys responded and made some big plays down the stretch.  Andres grabbed some huge offensive rebounds which I believe helped clinch the game.  I also thought Ian played very tough tonight.  Any win in the SUNYAC is a good win, but we know we have a lot of work to do.  We don't play again until next Saturday, and we will take advantage of the practice time and get back to work on the fundamentals."
 
The Inside Story
Today's game came down to the final 3:39 with the scored knotted at 70 apiece.  Buffalo State (3-9, 1-7 SUNYAC) had just tied the game on a Jordan Christopher three-pointer that capped seven unanswered.  Christopher led all scorers in the game with 26 points.
 
After an Oneonta timeout, junior Joseph Bull (Bronx, NY/Mount St. Michael Academy) fed senior Ian Schultz (Clifton Park, NY/CBA) in the low post, which he converted into a layup to put the Red Dragons ahead.  Buffalo then missed a three-pointer and Schultz was fouled on the rebound.  Schultz made both free throws on the other end to make the score 74-70 with 2:39 remaining.
 
Junior Andres Rivera (Bronx, NY/Walton) then entered the game and proceeded to grab three big offensive rebounds, block a shot and make one free throw during the final stretch to help Oneonta secure the win.  Rivera collected eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 21 minutes today.
 
Oneonta was cruising along through the first half building itself a comfortable 48-34 lead.  Senior Kevin Mackin (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) paced the Red Dragons with 14 points in the half on 5-of-10 from the floor including four, three-pointers.
 
The Red Dragons put together various runs during the opening half, but the Bengals kept fighting back.  A 14-6 run pushed Oneonta's lead to 36-25 at the 7:21 mark.  The Bengals cut its deficit once again and pulled to within four points three minutes later.  Christopher led the charge with six straight points.  Oneonta scored the final 10 points of the half capped by a Bull jumper.
 
Just the Stats
Oneonta made 16-of-23 free throws in the game, which proved to be the biggest difference in the outcome with Buffalo State only making 9-of-11.
 
Schultz joined Mackin in double figures today with 14 points.  Bull grabbed a team high nine rebounds to go with nine points.
 
What's Next
Oneonta will have a week to prepare for its next opponent New Paltz next Saturday beginning at 4pm.