CORTLAND, N.Y. – The Cortland men's basketball team defeated visiting Buffalo State, 69-58, in a SUNYAC men's basketball contest.
Cortland improved to 13-11 overall and 10-7 in the SUNYAC with one regular-season league game remaining Saturday at 4 p.m. at home versus Fredonia. The Red Dragons are currently tied for fourth place with Plattsburgh, a game ahead of both Geneseo and Oneonta. There are many possible outcomes based on Saturday's games. A win versus Fredonia will guarantee Cortland a playoff berth, while a loss may possibly knock the Red Dragons down to seventh, and out of the playoffs, depending on other results.
Kareem Lubin (Monroe/Washingtonville) led Cortland with 17 points and three assists and added six rebounds.
Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) finished with 15 points and five rebounds and
Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Peter's by the Sea) scored 12 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
Danny Linehan (Blauvelt/Tappan Zee) hit three first-half 3-pointers and scored nine points.
Brendyn Cheng led Buffalo State (1-23, 1-16 SUNYAC) with 14 points and Matt Parkinson and Remi Skvorc each scored 13 points. Nigel Burch chipped in with 11 points and Maley McCurty had seven rebounds.
Cortland led 36-22 at halftime after finishing the first half on a 12-3 run. The Bengals closed to within 42-38 five minutes into the second half, but Cortland answered with a 7-1 run to go up 49-39 with 11:23 left. The lead grew back to 14 points in the final four minutes. The guests made one last push and trailed by six, 64-58, with 47 seconds left before the Red Dragons made 5-of-6 free throws to seal the win.
