BUFFALO, N.Y.— The College at Brockport men's basketball team battled an intense Buffalo State unit that pushed back from beginning to end. The Golden Eagles were able to pull ahead and defeat the Bengals, 88-85, for their first State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) win of the New Year.
 
The victory pushes the Green and Gold to an 8-4 overall record and 4-1 in SUNYAC play, while Buffalo State drops to 3-7 and 1-3 in conference play. 
 
Brockport stumbled to start the game, falling behind 10-2 just three minutes in. The Golden Eagles chipped away and made a run with two free-throws by Devante Hagins and a three-pointer from Dwayne Daniel to bring the score to 13-7. The Green and Gold found themselves down by as many as 14 at the 4:45 mark in the first half, but a layup and steal by Jahidi Wallace gave the team some much needed momentum. Brockport getting to the free throw line helped them chip into Buffalo State's lead. Successful free-throw trips from Wallace and Davonte Jones, along with two big three-point shots from Antonio Alvarez helped cut the deficit to just four points at halftime.
 
The Golden Eagles came out in the second half settled in and ready to play. Chris Atkinson opened the frame with a smooth jump shot, followed by another three from Alvarez to lock both teams at 41-41 just 40 seconds in. Josh Nelson joined the three-point party by nailing a shot to give the Golden Eagles their first lead of the night at 44-41. Brockport began to pull away after a couple of quick buckets from Atkinson and great team free throw shooting to give Brockport an 11-point lead with 9:02 left in the game. 
 
This was a tough battle all night and the Bengals were not going away easily as they cut their deficit to four points with 1:24 on the clock. Daniel kept the opposition at bay with two clutch free throws, but Brockport found their lead at just one with 40 seconds to play. Atkinson brought the Golden Eagles home with a clutch jump shot and two huge free throws to hold onto an 88-85 victory against a quality SUNYAC opponent.
 
Alvarez led the team with a career-high 21 points and seven rebounds, shooting an impressive 5-for-8 from downtown. Atkinson followed with 20 points and three assists, while Wallace also pitched in a solid 17 points and eight rebounds off the bench for the Golden Eagles.
 
Brockport remains on the road for their next contest as they head to SUNY New Paltz on Friday, Jan. 11 for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. 
 
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