DENTON, Texas — David Roddy had 17 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Stevens added 14 points with nine assists and top-seeded Colorado State beat Buffalo 75-73 on Friday night in the first round of the NIT Tournament.
Colorado State (19-6) advances to play North Carolina State in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Stevens drew three defenders in the lane and found Roddy wide open under the basket for a 73-70 lead with 37.6 seconds left. Following LaQuill Hardnett’s 3-pointer to tie it, Stevens got into the paint again and converted a contested layup with 1.2 seconds left, and Roddy sealed it by intercepting the inbound pass at the buzzer.
Adam Thistlewood also scored 14 points, with four 3-pointers, for Colorado State and James Moors added 11 points.
Thistlewood made two 3-pointers and Roddy added a three-point play during Colorado State’s 15-1 run for a 59-51 lead. Buffalo missed eight straight field goals during the run, spanning five-plus minutes.
Jeenathan Williams scored 21 points for Buffalo (16-9). Hardnett and Jayvon Graves each added 12 points. Josh Mballa, the MAC defensive player of the year, had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Williams scored 10 of Buffalo’s opening 16 points, including opening and closing a 12-2 run for a five-point lead. Williams finished the half with 12 points to help build a 34-33 lead. Both teams made 15 of 34 field goals (44.1%) in the opening 20 minutes.
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