The three-point ball was the ultimate weapon for the Bengals Saturday as they travel to New Paltz. The Bengals hit 12 3-pointers en route to their 78-69 victory.

The win pushed their record to 14-7 (8-7 SUNYAC).

The Bengals didn’t get off to a good start as they trailed 13-4 after the first 5:18 of play. A 34-19 run put the Bengals in front 38-32 to go into halftime and they never looked back. The lead was pushed to as many as 23 in the second half.

Lovell Smith followed up his 42 point performance on Friday with a team leading 22 points. Dom Grayer gave sufficient production off the bench as he added 21 more points, all of which came on his seven 3-pointers. Mike Henry had 11 points and 13 rebounds in a double-double effort.

Turnover were key as the Bengals forced 22 New Paltz turnovers and converted those into 33 points. The Bengals also dominated the offensive glass and had the advantage in second chance points 18-1.

The win places Buffalo State in fifth place above Geneseo (7-7 in SUNYAC) and below Oneonta (10-4). The top six teams make it to the playoffs.

Next up for the Bengals are three home games to close out the season. Buffalo State will take on third in SUNYAC Cortland on Friday, Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. and top-seeded Oswego on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. Its final game will be versus eighth-seeded Fredonia on Saturday, Feb. 18 with tip off at 5:30 p.m.