ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team ended their three-game home stand by falling to visiting Stevens Institute of Technology Saturday afternoon, 77-70 at the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
Senior forward Dalton Cousin (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) picked up where he left off for the Saxons (9-3, 2-1 Empire 8) as he led the team in points with 15 and had seven rebounds. First-year forward Jeremiah Zitz (Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit) finished with a team high eight rebounds (three offense, five defense). Junior forward Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) also finished with seven rebounds (five offense, two defense). Coming into the afternoon action, Brown has averaged 4.3 offensive rebounds which is good for sixth in the nation.
Senior guard Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) kicked off the action for Alfred as he drained a three-pointer and was fouled on the shot. Unfortunately Schmidt was unable to convert the four-point play. Alfred opened up the game on a 5-2 run before the Ducks caught fire and were able to tie the game up with the and-one from Jayson Winick the tie the game just two minute in.
With the Saxons hanging on the a slight 14-13 lead with 14:51 to go in the half, Zitz scored on a fast break opportunity with Schmidt getting the assists. Stevens came back and answered with a three-pointer from Frank Amari to tie it up.
The Saxons trailed for the remaining of the half but came within one point as junior guard Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) knocked down both his free throw attempts to make it 29-28 in favor of the Ducks. The Ducks took a six-point halftime lead as Michael Zignorski made his shit beyond the arc to make it 36-30.
"It was defensive struggle today," said Head Coach Russell Phillips. "Hat's off to Stevens they did a really good job on the defensive end. Dalton Cousin had a big game for us inside but we were a play short to get over the hump and get the win. Overall it's not a bad start to league play and we will be ready for our games next weekend."
Alfred came into the second half on a 7-2 run as Stopera converted from beyond the arc to make it 38-37. The Saxons regain the lead as Stopera was able to find Schmidt for the fast break layup to make it 39-38 in favor of Alfred.
The Ducks were able to open the game up as they went on a 5-0 run just under the halfway mark of the second half, making the score 58-52. The Saxons were able to recover and tie the game at 63 all with a layup from Stopera with just under four minutes in regulation before Stevens pulled away one last time.
The Ducks were led offensively by Spencer Cook with 26 points and Amari with 18 points. Cook also led the team in rebounds with eight, respectively.
In a tightly contested game, there were 15 lead changes and the score was tied seven times. Alfred took advantage of the turnovers committed by Stevens as they scored 19 points to the Ducks 11. Alfred also held the advantage in points scored in the paint, 38-26 as well as second chance points, 16-12.
The Saxons hit the road next week to take on Nazareth College on Friday, January 12 at 6 PM.