ONEONTA, NY – Senior forward Dalton Cousin (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) recorded his third double-double (14 points, 11 rebounds) of the season as the Alfred University men's basketball team defeat host Hartwick College 77-66 Saturday afternoon at the Lambros Arena to close out the regular season schedule.
The Saxons (18-7, 11-5 Empire 8) also had strong outings from junior guard Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) as he finished with a team-high 16 points while junior guard Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) added 14 points and sophomore guard Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) chipped in 13 points off the bench.
Alfred was able to get out to a comfortable 10-point lead halfway through the first half before the Hawks closed the deficit to one off a layup by Marc Du Moulin to make it 23-22 with just over eight minutes before halftime. The Saxons were able to get the lead back to nine as junior forward Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) drove the lane for the layup to make it 36-27. Alfred took a 36-32 lead into halftime.
The Saxons were able to pull away as they went on a 19-4 run to open up the second half of action to make it 55-34. The run was helped fueled by three-pointers from LeMorta and senior guard Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean).
"We did a great job of getting out in transition early which opened up our half-court offense," said Head Coach Russell Phillips. "Defensively, we defended well with our one-on-one matchups. This was a good win as we go into the E8 playoffs next week."
The Saxons dominated in all facets of the game as they outscored the Hawks in points off turnovers (16-11) while having a dominating presence in the paint (32-20).
The Hawks were led by Brandon LaForest with 13 points while Kevin Townes and Moulin scored 11 point each, respectively.
The Saxons look to carry the momentum into postseason play as they take on the #1 seed Nazareth College next Friday, February 23, at Nazareth College. The last time these two teams met, the Saxons prevailed as Schmidt knocked down a corner three-pointer in the final seconds in an 89-87 thriller earlier this week.