BUFFALO, NY—Buffalo State and Hilbert earned victories tonight on the opening round of the Buffalo State Holiday Inn Invitational at the Sports Arena. Hilbert (1-5) defeated Medaille (0-6), 63-59, in the opener, and the Bengals (4-1) downed D’Youville (2-5), 85-75, in the nightcap.

In the first game, Medaille led 28-24 at the intermission, but Hilbert took the lead with 10:47 remaining during a 12-2 run and did not look back. Keon Rembert (Brooklyn/Archbishop Walsh) led Hilbert with 19 points and 13 rebounds. William Hall (Buffalo/Traditional) also notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards, and Sam Gioia (W. Seneca/W. Seneca West) added 12 points for the Hawks. Anthony Perioli (Liverpool/Liverpool) led the Mavericks with 17 points, and Rene Smith (Depew/South Park) tallied 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

In the late contest, Buffalo State sprinted to a 45-24 lead in the opening half, before cruising to the 10-point victory. Gregg Jones (Syracuse/Nottingham) led 13 Bengals on the scoresheet with a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds. Jones was 9-of-11 from the field and hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Aaron Carter (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls), Jeremy Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East) and Jobany Tirado (Syracuse/Corcoran) each added eight points for Buffalo State. Ross King (Silver Springs/Letchworth) led D’Youville with 26 points, and Kyle Ward (Lafayette, IN/Central Catholic) had 17 points and eight assists. Justin Cooke (Lanham, MD/Albert Einstein) added 11 points and 10 boards for the Spartans.

Hilbert will face Buffalo State in tomorrow’s championship game at 8 p.m. Medaille and D’Youville will square off in the consolation game at 6 p.m.