ALFRED, NY — The Alfred University men's basketball team snapped #16 St. John Fisher College's 18-game win streak, and handed the Cardinals their first Empire 8 loss of the seasion, 60-59, in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena Tuesday evening.
 
The Saxons (16-7, 9-5 Empire 8) capitalized on points off turnovers in the second half to outlast the Cardinals in a down-to-the-wire E8 rivalry matchup, scoring 15 to Fisher's zero. The game was decided by a free throw by senior Dalton Walsh (Stockton, NY/Cassadega Valley) with a mere three seconds left on the clock. Overall, however, it was a team effort that projected AU to upset the #16 team in the nation.

With the loss, the Cardinals fall to 20-3 overall and 13-1 in Empire 8 play.
 
The game began much like it ended, with both teams grinding out tough points. There was an equivalent retaliation mentality where one team would score and the other would answer with a play of their own.  Sophomore Tyler Seelman (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) was the catalyst for the Saxons in the first half, making three deep-ball shots in the first eight minutes.  He would finish the half with nine points.
 
With only 2:50 left in the first period, junior Jerry Kincel (Moosic, PA/Riverside) dropped a three to give the Saxons a five-point lead, their largest of the half. However, the Cardinals swooped back to grab the advantage, 29-26, with only four seconds left off an Optimystik Kinard 3PT shot. SJFC would close the half with the three-point margin.
 
Fisher drew blood first in the second half on a Keegan Ryan layup, which he soon followed up with a free throw on the next play to put the Cardinals up 32-27.  The next minute and thirty-four seconds, the Saxons went on a rampage and rattled off an 8-0 run to grasp a lead 36-32 with 16:33 to go in the game.  AU would extend this lead further to take their largest lead of the night, 44-36, when senior guard Ryan Mahon (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) drove hard into the paint and nailed the "and-one" play.
 
Only 7:31 later, Fisher tied the game at 46 on an old-fashioned three-point play by the Cardinals' Chaz Lott.  However, AU's senior ball handler Tim Pacheco (Mt. Pocono, PA/Pocono Mountain East) answered with a drive the hoop to grab the lead yet again for the Saxons.  AU would not relinquish its lead until the final minute.
 
With 0:23 left on the clock, Lott tied the game on the back of a 6-0 run against the Saxons.  With the game tied at 59, head coach Russ Phillips called a timeout with eighteen seconds left to set up a play to seize the lead.  AU let the clock run down to approximately ten before beginning the play and looked for the open man.  Finally the ball was kicked inside to Walsh who jostled for position in the paint and was fouled with only three seconds left.  Walsh would go 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to give AU the 60-59 advantage. 
 
With plenty of time on the clock, Fisher called a timeout to put together a winning play, but it was to no avail.  The final heave was no good and the Alfred University student section poured onto the court.
 
Walsh ended the night with a game-high 18 points, 12 rebounds, and six blocks. The six blocks mark Walsh's career-high in what could be his last game in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.  Seelman added six points to his total in the second half, tallying 15 points on the night—all coming by way of the long ball.  Kincel amassed nine points, while playing impenetrable defense on the other end of the court. Junior Julian Reinhart (Hornell, NY/Hornell) added eight points to the Saxons' effort, and dished out four assists.
 
With the win over Fisher, AU jumps into a second-place tie in the Empire 8 standings with Hartwick College and guarantees the Saxons a spot in the four-team conference championship tournament. While Hartwick holds the tiebreaker over Alfred by virtue of the Hawks' season sweep of the Saxons, AU split with fourth-place Ithaca (9-7 league record) and can finish no worse than tied for fourth in the conference standings with either Ithaca or Elmira and Stevens, which are currently tied for fifth in the league standings with a 7-7 mark. Alfred holds the tiebreaker edge over Stevens after sweeping the Ducks this year; AU has split with Ithaca and has already beaten Elmira. The Saxons, who wrap up the regular season at Elmira Saturday, hold the tiebreaker edge over Ithaca and Elmira by virtue of Alfred's win over first-place Fisher, which swept both Ithaca and Elmira.

Empire 8 Conference basketball tiebreakers

AU will look to continue its six-game win streak on the road against Utica College Friday evening.  The Saxons will look to avenge the 81-75 loss at home against the Pioneers.