Buffalo State will host its annual New Year's men's basketball tournament this Friday and Saturday, featuring the four Buffalo-area Division III teams. D'Youville, Hilbert and Medaille will compete with the Bengals for the crown in the 2003 Buffalo State Holiday Inn Invitational crown.

Adding to the local appeal, for the first time since the 1991-92 season, Buffalo State is led by five starters from the greater-Buffalo area. The current version of the Bengals is hoping for the same success enjoyed by the team 11 years ago that went 24-4 en route to its fifth-consecutive SUNYAC Championship.

Buffalo State is off to a 5-3 start, including a 2-0 beginning to its conference schedule, led by Josh Becker (Hamburg/Frontier), twin brother Jeremy and Justin Konst (Williamsville/Williamsville East), Perry Davis (Buffalo/Seneca), and Anthony Piccolo (Depew/Depew). In addition to the five starters, the Bengals' top-three supporting players also hail from Section VI. Mike Miranto (N. Tonawanda/N. Tonawanda), Kevin Roche (Williamsville/Williamsville East), and Jon Allport-Cohoon (Lockport/Lockport) have all seen significant minutes off the bench through the team's first four games.

Piccolo is the lone senior on the team coached by Cheektowaga-native Dick Bihr. Becker currently leads the Bengals, averaging 18.1 points-per-game. Jeremy Konst is also averaging double-figures with 13.0 points-per-outing and Davis is scoring 9.8 per-game, while grabbing 10.6 rebounds.

The tournament format is as follows:

Friday, January 10

Game 1 6:00 pm Medaille vs. D'Youville

Game 2 8:00 pm Hilbert vs. Buffalo State

Saturday, January 11

Consolation 6:00 pm Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

Championship 8:00 pm Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2

All games will be played at the Buffalo State Sports Arena. An All-Tournament team will be named following the championship contest.