BUFFALO, N.Y.— Dom Grayer (Brooklyn/Bishop Loughlin) tallied a career-high 39 points on 8 of 11 shooting from distance but it was not enough as No. 20 John Carroll finished 6 of 6 from the charity stripe in the final 23 seconds to escape with a 99-94 victory over upset-minded Buffalo State in the Sports Arena.
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: #20 John Carroll – 99, Buffalo State – 94 
LOCATION: Sports Arena – Buffalo, N.Y.
RECORDS: John Carroll (2-0), Buffalo State (0-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Grayer led the Bengals in scoring and chipped in three blocks and a steal.
• Kay Grant (Jamaica/Thomas Jefferson) finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
• Sheldon Adams (Rochester/Bishop Kearney) added 10 points and two rebounds.
• Buffalo State jumped out to an early 14-7 lead before John Carroll responded with a 23-7 run to take a 30-24 lead at the midway point of the first half.
• The Bengals closed the first half on a 6-1 run to claw back to a 53-47 deficit at the intermission.
• Both teams traded runs early in the second half as the score remained 76-68 with 10 minutes left to play in the contest.
• The Bengals chipped away at the lead until back-to-back layups from Grayer and Delen Ramovic (Brooklyn/Midwood) tied the game at 80 apiece.
• The Blue Streaks reclaimed the lead and extended it back to 90-85 with just over three minutes left to play. Grayer used a 3-pointer to trim the lead back to 91-90 with 1:45 left.
• A pair of free throws by Sean Flannery gave John Carroll a 97-94 lead with eight seconds remaining. Buffalo State missed the front end of a one-and-one on the next possession and never hit rim on the second attempt as the Bengals' upset hopes faded away.
• The Blue Streaks knocked down a pair of free-throws on the next possession to earn the 99-94 win.
• Buffalo State shot 43 percent from the floor but held a 31-15 advantage in points off turnovers and a 42-34 points in the paint advantage in the contest.
• John Carroll shot 42 percent for the game and outrebounded the Bengals 53-40.

 
FOR THE FOES

• Connor Fitzgerald led the Blue Streaks' offense with 17 points on 5 3-pointers.
• Sean Flannery chipped in 16 points and five assists.
• Greg Parella added 14 points and 10 rebounds.

 
THE EARLY GAME

• Johnson & Wales outscored Brooklyn 41-32 in the second half to earn a 75-66 win in the early game today.
• Brian Hogan-Gary led the Wildcats with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Randall Ferdinand chipped in 17 points and 13 rebounds.
• Michael Tesoriero finished with 14 points and seven assists to lead Brooklyn.

 
NOTEWORTHY

• Grayer's eight 3-pointers is the most since 2015 when Kevin Marmolejos tallied 10 against St. Mary's. 
• John Carroll clinched the title in the Coles Classic by virtue of finishing 2-0 this weekend.

 
UP NEXT                 
Buffalo State will close out the Coles Classic tomorrow against Brooklyn at 2 p.m.