For Immediate Release: February 28, 2003

BUFFALO STATE AND NEW PALTZ ADVANCE
TO SUNYAC MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

UTICA, NY – Buffalo State and New Paltz advance to the finals of the SUNYAC Basketball Tournament after claiming victories in the semifinal rounds held tonight at the Utica Memorial Auditorium.

In the first men’s semifinal game, third-seeded Buffalo State held on for a 67-62 victory over Oswego, the second seed in this year’s tournament. The teams battled to a 37-37 tie at halftime, but Buffalo State mounted a 13-4 run to go up by 11 in the second period. The Lakers fought back, tying the score at 60-60 with 5:46 left in the game, before the Bengals took the lead for good. Buffalo State’s Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier) led all scorers with 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Mike O’Steen (Buffalo/Seneca Vocational) led Oswego with 16 points. The Lakers fall to 16-10. Buffalo State (18-8) moves on to face New Paltz in tomorrow’s championship game at 4:00 p.m.

In tonight’s second semifinal game, eighth-seeded New Paltz continued their run at the title by defeating No. 5 Brockport 64-62. Brockport led 29-27 at the half and the game remained close through the second stanza. Steve Ott (New Paltz) put in a layup with :2.1 seconds left on the clock to seal the victory for New Paltz. Brandon Mills (Rochester/Spencerport) had 15 points and five rebounds for Brockport. The Golden Eagles fall to 16-11 and New Paltz improves to 11-16 and will face Buffalo State in tomorrow’s championship game.

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