ONEONTA, NY – The Saxons (5-9, 2-3 Empire 8) go 15-for15 at the charity stripe as they fall to Hartwick College, 105-92 Friday evening in Empire 8 action.
Junior forward
Dalton Cousin (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) paced the offense for Alfred as he scored 18 points, going 9-for-11 from the field. Senior guard
Tyler Seelman (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) and junior forward
Tristin Hook (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown North) also played big roles on the offensive end as they both finished with 17 points.
Hook led the team in rebound with eight. The Hawks were led offensively by
Joey Lufkin who finish with 30 points and
Brandon LaForest who added 28 points, respectively.
The Saxons got off to a strong start as
Cousin scored the game's first points. The Hawks would then go on a quick 7-0 run before
Cousin knocked down the jumper bringing the score to 7-4. The Hawks opened up the game as they led by as many as 18 points at the 6:59 mark. The Saxons would find some quick offense as sophomore guard
Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) knocked down his three point attempt to make the score 33-18 left to play in the half. The Saxons would cut the deficit to seven after
Cousin got the quick steal and slammed it home with the dunk be down 35-28 with 2:45 remaining in the half. The Hawks would take a 49-33 lead into halftime.
The Hawks opened up the second half strong as they continued to distance themselves from Alfred. The Saxons would however inch closer as
Seelman converted an and-one play with 10:46 left in regulation, trailing 72-63. With the momentum starting to swing Alfred's way,
Seelman was able to get the quick steal and found
Cousin with the easy layup. The Saxons would soon lose momentum as fouls became an issue as Hartwick had 30 attempts in the second half alone.
The Saxons had huge contributions from the bench as they outscored Hartwick's, 28-13, and held the advantage in points in the paint, 44-34. Hartwick held the edge in fast break points, 10-4.
Alfred is next in action tomorrow, January 14
th, as they take on Stevens College at 4 p.m. in Empire 8 play.