Special to the OBSERVER

The Fredonia State men’s basketball team dropped a hotly-contested game to Buffalo State, 92-87, Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Devils saw four players achieve double-digit scoring, with Dydy Bryan leading the way with 29 points and six assists. De’Quan Smith had 17, Tyler Roberts had 16, and Moussa Samassa had 11 points and seven rebounds.

The first half proved to be a wild one as Fredonia led 45-43 at the break. Fredonia State started off hot, leading 33-20 after the first ten minutes of regulation.

Later in the half, Buffalo State took off on an 11-1 run in an attempt to catch up, tying the score at 43 with under a minute left. Samassa answered back with an electrifying two-hand slam in the paint to help the Blue Devils retain their lead, 45-43, going into the locker room.

The Blue Devils shot 62 percent from the field and went 8-14 (57 percent) from behind the arc and never allowed the visitors to take the lead.

Smith and Roberts both contributed a trio of three pointers in the first half. They led Fredonia’s scoring with 11 points apiece.

The second half began with a 9-0 Blue Devil run to bring the lead up to 54-43. Samassa threw down another dunk in the paint, followed by a Roberts three, a layup at the rim off a tough drive for Bryan, and then closed out with a runner by Roberts.

The Bengals punched back with a 13-2 run of their own, tying the game at 56 with 12 minutes on the clock.

Buffalo State would take its first lead of the game at 70-69 with 4:45 left to play. Bryan answered with an and-1 layup to get the score to 71-70 before Buffalo State’s Argjend Imeri retaliated with an and-1 of his own to give the Bengals a two-point lead with four and a half minutes left to play.

Buffalo State scored five straight to get the lead up to 78-73 with three and a half minutes left, making it their biggest lead of the game to that point.

After a three pointer by the Bengals’ Shedlon Adams, the score became 81-75 Buffalo State with under two and a half minutes left to play. Bryan answered right back with a three of his own, making it a one-possession game, 81-78, with just over two minutes left to play.

The Blue Devils were outscored 11-9 down the stretch to close out the game.

Colden George, Samassa, Smith and Roberts were each recognized as the team’s four seniors prior to the game.

Fredonia State ends the year 8-17 with a 4-14 SUNYAC record. Buffalo State finishes at 6-16 and 4-14 in the conference. They also picked up a point in the Battle by the Lake all-sports competition. They now lead the race for the Lake Erie Cup, 10-7.