ROCHESTER, NY – Freshman Jaylen Savage scored 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half to lead the Nazareth Men's Basketball team to a convincing 84-53 win over Medaille Saturday in an Empire 8 game at Kidera Gym.

Nazareth (17-4 overall, 11-3 Empire 8) led by just eight points at 32-24 after the first 20 minutes of action as the Golden Flyers hit 41.4 percent (12-of-29) from the field and were limited to 1-of-10 shooting from 3-point range.

In the second half, Nazareth found a groove and connected on nearly 50% of its shots to take control of the game.

Savage was a key factor early in the second half. Nazareth led 41-30 four minutes into the second half before going on an 8-0 run. Savage hit a lay up and a jumper to start the run and added a pair of free throws before graduate student Jonathan Park capped the run with two more from the charity stripe.

Later in the period, freshman Solomon McFarlane hit a 3-pointer and sophomore Luke Insley connected on a jumper in the paint to extend the lead to 60-35 with 11 minutes remaining.

Savage led Nazareth with 23 points – just one point off his career high – including three 3-pointers and Insley finished with 12 points. Senior Logan Blankenberg and graduate student Zach Stenglein chipped in nine points each. Sophomore Liam Hopwood grabbed a team-leading 10 rebounds.

Nazareth will host Keuka Tuesday in Empire 8 action at Kidera Gym with a 7:30 p.m. game.