Buffalo State College (11/14)

Location: Buffalo, N.Y.

Nickname: the Bengals

Colors: burnt orange, light gray, dark gray

Enrollment: 11,000 students (including undergraduate and graduate)

2007-08 record: 8-15

Facts:

– The school is part of the SUNY system and is the largest “college” in the system. It was founded in 1871 as the Buffalo Normal School.

– Buffalo State is the alma mater of current Seton Hall head basketball coach Bobby Gonzalez, who was an assistant coach at Binghamton in 1987-88.

– The Bengals are coached by Fajri Ansari, who has compiled a 33-41 record in four seasons at the college. Ansari’s son, Bashir, is a junior guard for the team.

Buffalo State plays in the Division III SUNYAC (State University of New York Athletic Conference) in the West Division, where they finished in fifth place out of six teams last season. They last won the SUNYAC title in 2002-03, while their last winning season was the following year in 2003-04.

– Buffalo State is 11-1 all-time against Binghamton.

The team has already played one regular season game this year, defeating Waterloo 68-65 on Nov. 1.

The team returns two of its three top scorers from last season. The attack is led by seniors Jamar Gray and James Tyndal, while junior center forward Antonio Samedi provides some size in the middle. Samedi was the third leading scorer for the Bengals last season (9.0 points per game). He led the team in blocks last season with 35, recording six in a game against New Paltz. The total was the second highest output for a player in the conference last season. The highest single game total was seven, recorded by Oswego’s Mahamoud Jabbi, who now plays for Binghamton.

Players to watch:

Jamar Gray, G — senior: Gray, a 6-foot-3-inch guard, was the team leader in points (15.7 per game) and steals (2.0 per game). His seven steals against New Paltz last season was the top output for any player in a single game.

James Tyndal, G — senior: Tyndal is a pass first guard who led the team in assists (101) last season, including a 14-assist output against Houghton in February. His 8.2 points per game were fourth on the team.