YORK, Pa – A lay-up by Justin Konst with 1:22 to play was the difference as Chowan College came up just short in the Fourth Annual Coaches vs. Cancer Classic here.

Konst’s late score cancelled a Titus Stepney jumper that gave Chowan the lead just 30 seconds earlier and provided the difference in a 52-51 win by Buffalo State.

Chowan had built a 42-34 lead with 13:37 to play in the championship game of the tournament, thanks to a 6-0 run in which Roland Brown, Trayvon Lathan and Andy Perry each scored.

Buffalo State rallied to tie the contest at 42-all when Michael Miranto capped a 9-0 spurt for the Bengals with a hoop at the 9:35 mark of the second half.

Jon Allport-Cohoon hit two buckets for Buffalo State, but was answered each time – once by Lathan and once by Brown to see the score deadlocked at 46.

Perry Davis gave the Bengals a

two-point lead with his hoop that came with 3:44 to play, but the Braves snatched the advantage back on a trey from Brown.

Allport-Cahoon wrestled the lead back for Buffalo State with a lay-up at the 2:14 mark, which set up the final plays for each team.

The Braves led 27-24 at the intermission thanks to 15-2 run that erased a six-point deficit and put the Braves out front 23-18.

Joseph Cowan sparked the Braves’ run with a three-pointer at the 7:58 mark that was followed by a dunk from Lathan and a pair of lay-ups from Stepney.

Jeremy Konst finally stopped the Chowan streak with a hoop at the 6:04 mark of the first, but the Braves kept coming.

Lathan hit back-to-back buckets before Olajuwon Johnson had a hoop at the 4:09 mark to complete the run.

The Bengals were able to trim the margin to one (25-24), but Brown hit a jumper with eight seconds to play in the first half to establish the halftime margin.

For the contest, the Braves bested Buffalo State in fast-break points (12-8), second chance points (16-6) and points off turnovers (18-13), but the Bengals led in points in the paint (36-32).

The Braves, now 5-5 on the season, made the championship game by dispensing of host York College 84-74 in the opening round of the tourney.

Lathan scored 30 points in the win, hitting 10 of his 16 field goal attempts and draining 9-of-11 from the free throw line to pace the Braves.

Marcus Artis (16) and Brown (11) also hit double figures for the Braves during the tournament victory.

Buffalo State (52)

Justin Konst – 12, Joshua Becker – 10, Jon Allport-Cahoon – 10, P. Davis – 8, Jer. Konst – 6, K. Roche – 4, M. Miranto – 2

Chowan (51)

Trayvon Lathan – 20, Roland Brown – 13, T. Stepney – 6, A. Perry – 5, J. Cowan – 3, W. Hambrick – 2, O. Johnson – 2