BUFFALO, NY—Buffalo State and Nazareth earned victories tonight to open the Buffalo State Men’s Basketball Coles Classic at the Sports Arena. Nazareth took the opening game with a 92-72 victory over Pitt-Bradford, and Buffalo State ran past Marietta, 138-83, in the late game.

In the opener, Nazareth sprinted to a 51-30 halftime advantage and cruised to the 20-point victory. The Golden Flyers shot 61-percent from the field for the game and outscored the Panthers 44-22 in the paint. Joe Canori (Webster/Webster Thomas) led Nazareth with 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting. Kyle Nelson (Port Ewen/Kingston) was 8 of 11 with 19 points and Ryan McAdam (Fairport/Fairport) added 12 points. Pitt-Bradford was led by Dan Thomas’ (Perth, Australia) 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting. Shawn Spindler (Bradford, PA/Bradford) scored 19 points and added six assists.

In the nightcap, Buffalo State broke a 38-year-old school record for points in a game, out-running Marietta, 138-83. All 15 Bengals scored, led by James Williams’ (Brooklyn/William Grady) 28 points and 11 rebounds. Gregg Jones (Syracuse/Nottingham) added 17 points, and Jobany Tirado (Syracuse/Corcoran) and Dion Mozelle (Rego Park/Xaverian) each scored 14. Carlton Guiden (Bronx/Wade Hampton) tied a school record with seven steals and had six assists. Craig Stewart (Circleville, OH/Circleville) led Marietta with 21 points, and Steve Luckhardt (Shadyside, OH/Shadyside) scored 12. The two teams combined for 75 turnovers, with 40 committed by Marietta. Buffalo State shot 68-percent from the field, going 57 for 84, while the Pioneers with 26 of 82 (32-percent) and 14 of 54 from three-point range.

Nazareth and Buffalo State will meet in tomorrow’s championship game at 3 p.m. Pitt-Bradford will play Marietta in the consolation game at 1 p.m.