BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Plattsburgh State men's basketball team outscored Buffalo State, 49-47, in the second half, but the Cardinals fell, 88-76, to Buffalo State in State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) action Wednesday afternoon at the Buffalo State Sports Arena.
 
The Cardinals shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) from the field and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) from the line, but Buffalo State shot at a 52.9 percent (37-of-70) clip from the floor and held a 44-27 edge in rebounds.
 
First-year guard Kevin Tabb (Brooklyn, N.Y./Thomas Jefferson) led Plattsburgh State with 16 points, while senior guard Marlon Todd (Bronx, N.Y./Eagle Academy for Young Men) added a career-high 15 points. Senior guard/forward Sheriff Conteh (Bronx, N.Y./Our Saviour Lutheran) and first-year guard Franklin Infante (East Rockaway, N.Y./East Rockaway) netted 13 and 10 points, respectively.
 
For Buffalo State, junior forward/center Philbert Weekes posted a 27-point, 14-rebound double-double, while sophomore guards Aaron Davis and Robert Richards and junior guard DaRon Hughey scored 20, 19 and 12 points, respectively.
 
Plattsburgh State falls to 1-13 overall (0-7 SUNYAC) with the loss, while Buffalo State rises to 2-13 overall (1-7 SUNYAC) with the win. The two teams meet again on Saturday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. at Memorial Hall.
 
Conteh buried the first two points of the game on a jumper, but the two teams traded points before Buffalo State went on a 20-5 run to take a 20-7 lead. After the Bengals built a 19-point advantage, their largest in the first half, Plattsburgh State countered with an 8-0 surge, and a 3-pointer by Todd pulled the Cardinals within 10. Buffalo State led by as many as 18 points during the waning minutes of the first half and took a 41-27 cushion into the locker rooms.
 
Buffalo State ballooned the lead up to 19 points in the opening 2:06 of the second half, but Tabb, Conteh and Todd each chipped in points in a 5-0 Cardinal spurt to cut the gap to 14. The two teams traded points before a made jumper by Infante and a pair of Conteh free throws midway through the period trimmed the deficit to single digits. Buffalo State went back up by 18 points 3:41 later, and after the Bengals took another 18-point lead with 7:20 to go, Plattsburgh State answered with a 14-4 run, and a made jumper by Todd whittled the Bengal advantage to 80-72 with 2:47 remaining. Buffalo State scored four straight points in response and led by double digits down the stretch.