CORTLAND, N.Y. – Cortland scored 64 first-half points to take a 23-point halftime lead and the Red Dragons led by double figures the rest of the way in a 103-90 win over visiting Buffalo State in SUNYAC men's basketball action.
Cortland (13-11, 9-8 SUNYAC) is in a three-way tie for fifth place in the league standings with one game remaining at home versus Geneseo Saturday at 6 p.m. The top six teams qualify for the SUNYAC postseason tournament. Cortland needs to either defeat Geneseo, or have Potsdam lose at New Paltz Saturday, in order to qualify for the playoffs.
Austin Grunder (Trumansburg/Charles O. Dickerson) led Cortland with 37 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field. He was 5-for-8 from 3-point range, and also added seven rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Kareem Lubin (South Blooming Grove/Washingtonville) scored 13 of his 17 points in the opening half.
Danny Linehan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) totaled 13 points,
Riley McEvoy (Homer) finished with 12 points, and
AJ Lawton (Saratoga Springs) and
Humberto Cabrera (Millbrook) scored nine points apiece.
Lubin and McEvoy shared the team lead with six assists each and they both matched Grunder with seven rebounds apiece. Cabrera had three assists and two blocks. Cortland finished 16-of-37 from 3-point range. In addition to Grunder's five 3-pointers, Linehan, McEvoy and Lawton each connected on three long distance shots and Cabrera made two.
Philbert Weekes led Buffalo State (5-19, 4-13 SUNYAC) with 24 points and 16 rebounds. He made 12-of-16 shots from the field. Aaron Davis hit four 3-pointers and ended with 18 points and seven assists, while Marquell Boutwell and Tyron Smith each scored 13 points off the bench.
Cortland's big first half featured 65 percent shooting from the field overall (24-of-37), including 11-of-21 (53 percent) from 3-point range. The Red Dragons finished the game at 56 percent shooting overall. Buffalo State shot 51 percent from the floor and 10-for-23 (44 percent) from the arc.
Cortland took a 25-9 lead 6:12 into the game and led 41-21 with 8:29 remaining in the half. The Red Dragons led 64-41 at halftime, but the Bengals scored 10 straight points in the first three minutes of the second half to cut their deficit to 13. Cortland re-established a 24-point lead on a Grunder 3-pointer with 12:08 left. The guests were able to get back to within 12 points twice in the final four minutes.
