BUFFALO, N.Y. – Chris Cartwright made 5-of-8 three-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points as Buffalo State defeated Cortland, 83-74, in the SUNYAC opener for both teams. Buffalo State remained unbeaten at 4-0 overall, while the Red Dragons dropped to 2-3.

Cartwright hit 5-of-6 treys for 15 points in the opening half. T.O. Jackson added 17 points and Justin Mitchell scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. In all, five Bengals scored in double figures. Glenroy Carr finished with 11 points and seven boards and Jake Simmons scored 11 points.

Sophomore Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge) led Cortland with 18 points. He also finished with five rebounds. Senior Dustin Marshall (Newfield) scored 16 points and shared the team lead with nine rebounds. Sophomore Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) added 12 points and five boards.

In the Cortland frontcourt, freshman Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) recorded 11 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots and sophomore Dan Sternkopf (Washingtonville) finished with career-highs of eight points (4-of-6 field goals), six rebounds and two blocks.

Cortland's final lead of the game was at 24-23 on a Smith jumper with 9:47 left in the first half. Buffalo State led 44-40 at halftime and opened a 12-point lead at 58-46 with 15:12 remaining on two Cartwright free throws.

The Red Dragons fought back to within 63-59 on a Smith three-pointer with 10:54 left, but the Bengals scored six straight to take a 10-point lead. Cortland clawed back again and trailed by only three at 73-70 on a McMahon layup with 2:37 left. He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.

Cortland pulled within three points two more times, the last after Marshall made a layup and was fouled with 38.9 seconds left. On his free throw attempt, he was called for a violation for crossing into the lane too soon and the Red Dragons trailed 77-74. Cartwright sank two foul shots with 32.4 seconds left and Cortland missed two three-pointers that could have pulled the Red Dragons within two. The Bengals added two foul shots and a layup in the final 10 seconds for the final nine-point margin.

Cortland will travel to Fredonia on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a league matchup.

Box Score/Play-by-Play