Buffalo State’s men’s basketball team (0-22, 0-15 SUNYAC) was full of momentum to start the first half – until their engine ran out of oil and play got sloppy, which led to a 19-point loss to SUNY Plattsburgh (11-11, 8-7 SUNYAC).

The team looked panicked on the court as they struggled to make plays consistently and effectively. As the Bengals ran out of gas, the Cardinals seemed to have a full tank.

Nigel Burch led the prowl with a double-double as he netted 12 points and grabbed a team-high 12 boards along with two steals. Matt Parkinson led all scorers with 19 points while Maley McCurty managed nine points, six rebounds and a steal.

Plattsburgh started things off with a triple and McCurty netted a pair from the charity stripe before Bryce Williams turned a Cardinal turnover into points and Burch netted a jumper to put the Bengals ahead by three.

McCurty burst onto the scene with a jumper before Parkinson drained a three to lead 12-4. Parkinson showed off his euro step for an eight-point advantage, but five quick points from Plattsburgh made it a three-point game.

Burch managed a second-chance layup and Corcel Smallhorne drilled a triple and a free throw to lead 20-13 with 9:16 left in the half.

The advantage slipped out of the Bengals paws as the Cardinals went on an 11-2 run to lead 24-22. Buff State trailed for the remainder of the match.

A 13-6 run from Plattsburgh was capped by a dunk from Ikechukwu Ezike as the Bengals trailed by nine. Parkinson and Burch added points in the paint to trail 44-34 at the end of the first half.

Brendyn Cheng opened up the second half with a jumper as Plattsburgh was held scoreless for the first three minutes. An 8-3 run from the Bengals, capped by a tray from Williams, cut the deficit to four with 15:45 to play.

A nearly two-minute scoring drought was broken by Plattsburgh, who jumped out to a 5-0 run to lead by 12. McCurty added some points in the paint to cut the deficit to a dime before the group began to fall apart.

Plattsburgh commanded a 15-6 run that lasted roughly five minutes to go ahead by 17 points while missed shots and turnovers began to suffocate the home team. It appeared that many of the turnovers were a result of not looking where the defenders were, or what coverage the defense was in, before passing the ball.

Burch and Steph Vergara netted layups while Tyseer Rahman and Vergara combined for three from the charity stripe to close out the game with a 19-point loss.

Buffalo State finished the contest with 31 points in the paint, 14 second-chance points and 11 points from the bench. They were outrebounded by one board (37-36).

The Bengals were 24-of-55 from the field, 3-of-15 from three and 13-of-23 from the charity stripe.