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Bengals jump out to 2-0 conference start
By A.J. Speier
On December 6, 2012
With SUNYAC play opening last weekend, getting off to a hot start was in the Buffalo
State men's basketball team's best interest.
The Bengals delivered, defeating Oneonta in an 85-64 blowout win on Friday before
prevailing over New Paltz 97-93 on Saturday. With the wins, the Bengals improved
to 4-1 overall and jumped out to a 2-0 start in the conference for the second
consecutive season.
In Friday's game, Buffalo State took a 38-29 lead with 4:49 left in the first half, but
Oneonta responded with a 9-0 run to tie it up in the final minute. Guard Anthony
Hamer hit a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left in the half to give the Bengals a 41-38
lead heading into the break. The Bengals held a 24-15 rebounding advantage in the
half.
"We needed a little more intensity," head coach Fajri Ansari said. "We might've been
a little tired. We were still kind of playing their tempo and we needed to get going
and start running again."
In the second half, guard Roderick Epps exploded for 14 of the Bengals' first 18
points to give them a 59-48 lead with 13:49 left.
"My team opened it up for me," Epps said. "The big men were doing their thing, Jake
(Simmons) was hitting down shots and Anthony (Hamer) was attacking, so their
focus wasn't really on me at first and I just started heating up."
Oneonta closed the deficit to 59-50, but it was all Buffalo State from there on. The
Bengals held a double-digit lead for the rest of the game and extended their lead to
as many as 24 at one point.
Epps had a team-high 27 points and Anyar Majak had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Jake Simmons and Maurice Miles finished with eight points each. Every player on
the Bengals' 15-man roster saw playing time, and all but two of them scored.
"Seth (Runge) and I talked about rebounding, so our mentality is different," Majak
said. "We came to the conclusion that we have to out-rebound every team that
comes into our house. It's just boxing out and crashing the boards."
Buffalo State out-rebounded Oneonta 48-39 and held the Red Dragons to just 15.4
percent from beyond the arc.
"I think we just knuckled down and played some hard defense," Ansari
said. "They're usually a good 3-point shooting team and I don't think I ever
remember them scoring just two 3-pointers. Hopefully that was more our defense
and a combination of them shooting bad."
In Saturday's contest against New Paltz, the Bengals caught fire early and built a 25-
10 lead with 13:52 left in the first half. Bengals' shooters made eight of their first 12
shots, including going five for five from 3-point range.
"We moved the ball well," Ansari said. "We ran and we kept the tempo. We also
played aggressive defense. That's how we want to play for a whole game."
The Hawks responded with a 9-0 run, but the Bengals took a 54-40 lead into the
half. Buffalo State shot 58.3 percent from 3-point range and turned the ball over just
once. Epps had a team-high 15 points in the first half. Simmons had 11 and Miles
finished with 10.
"We were just being aggressive," Miles said. "Coach is always telling us to face the
basket and be aggressive with the ball. I was just being aggressive and their leading-
scorer was checking me, so I wanted to attack him and make him play defense."
New Paltz came out of the break fired up and went on a 15-4 run to start the second
half, but Buffalo State answered back with eight straight points to take a 69-56 lead
with 13:57 left in the game.
The Bengals held a 95-84 lead with 1:23 left in the game, but the Hawks attempted
a comeback with a 9-0 run, powered by seven points from their leading scorer Matt
Devine.
"At the end of the game, [Devine] got a lot of free throws because we were being
over-desperate on defense," Miles said. "We knew he could shoot, so we were
closing out on his 3-point shot. We were in the air and he's leaning in. I believe he
got five free throws just from that in the last two minutes."
Majak made both of his free throws with 14 seconds remaining to secure the victory
for Buffalo State.
"We just had to win, especially at home," Majak said. "There was a little bit of
pressure, but it wasn't too bad. I knocked them down, so that's all that really
matters. These wins mean we're heading in the right direction to win the SUNYAC
championship and that's what we're after."
Epps finished with a team-high 25 points. Simmons had 17 points, Miles tied a
career-high with 15 points and Seth Runge added 12 points.
The Bengals had just four turnovers but committed 24 fouls. The Hawks made 35-
of-37 free throws and won the rebounding battle, 46-30.
"The ideal thing you want to do is make more free throws than the other team
attempts and that's what happened for them," Ansari said. "Fortunately, we had
enough field goals to sustain it.
"We did a good job with turnovers and it helped us because that would've given
them more chances and they had more than enough chances at the free throw line."
Buffalo State will play two conference games on the road this weekend starting
with a game against Potsdam at 8 p.m. on Friday and then Plattsburgh at 4 p.m. on
Saturday.
In the last two games, Maurice Miles has received the start at power forward with
Majak coming off of the bench.
"I'm looking forward to the possibility of starting," Miles said. "I keep working hard
in practice, but it's all about whatever is best for the team."
Simmons currently has 1,652 career points, 60 shy of Randy Smith's school record
1,712 points.
A.J. Speier can be reached by email at speier.record@live.com.
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