BUFFALO, N.Y. – Jake Simmons led five double-figure scorers with 21 points as nationally 14th-ranked Buffalo State outlasted Cortland, 85-76, in a SUNYAC contest. The Bengals won their sixth straight game and are now 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the league. Cortland had a four-game winning streak snapped and is 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the SUNYAC.

Simmons hit 8-of-14 shots, including 5-of-8 three-pointers, and also grabbed eight rebounds. Justin Mitchell filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six blocked shots and Nico McLean totaled 13 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Ahmed Nagaya added 12 points and Anthony Hamer scored 11 points for the Bengals. Norman Simmons recorded five assists.

Cortland featured four double-figure scorers, led by junior Jesse Winter's (Rockville Centre/South Side) 18 points. He also amassed four assists and three steals. Junior Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy) scored 15 points and dished out five assists.

Junior Brian Manning (Elmira/Southside) scored 12 points and recorded career highs of seven assists and six steals. Freshman Max Brown (Fairport) scored a career-best 10 points and junior Dan Sternkopf (Washingtonville) grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. Sternkopf, sophomore Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) and sophomore John Connolly (Johnson City/Maine-Endwell) scored seven points each.

Buffalo State led by 13 points, 73-60, after a Mitchell layup with 6:22 remaining. Cortland scored eight straight points, capped by Smith and Winter three-pointers, to cut the lead to five, but the Bengals re-opened an 80-68 lead with 3:48 remaining with a 7-0 run.

Cortland made one final push by scoring eight straight points, finished by a Manning layup at the 1:25 mark, and the Red Dragons were down 80-76. Norman Simmons scored a layup with 1:10 left and, following turnovers by each team, Cortland missed two shots with less than 50 seconds remaining. The Red Dragons forced another turnover with 41 seconds left, but a three-pointer missed the mark and Hamer hit one foul shot with 25 seconds left to make it a three-possession lead.

Buffalo State jumped out to an 13-3 lead to start the game, but Cortland scored 17 of the next 19 points and led 20-15 with 11:41 left in the half. The Red Dragons eventually led by 12 at 33-21 with 3:54 remaining after Winter drained a three-pointer, but the Bengals finished the half on an 18-3 run that included seven points by McLean and six by Hamer to take a 39-36 halftime lead. Cortland's lone lead in the second half was 48-46 after a McMahon jumper with 14:28 on the clock.

Cortland will play at Fredonia Saturday at 4 p.m.

Box Score/Play-by-Play