Cleveland, OH – The Alfred University men's basketball team fell to host Case Western Reserve University Friday evening, 91-85.
 
The Saxons (6-2, 0-0 Empire 8) were led offensively by junior guard Scoty Stopera (Scotia, NY/ Scotia-Glennville) with 21 points with junior forward Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) with 19 points. Sophomore guard Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) chipped in 14 points. Junior forward Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) led Alfred in rebounds with seven. Stopera also had five assists on the night.
 
The Saxons jumped out to an early 3-0 lead as senior guard Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) knocked down his three-point attempt just 26 seconds into the game. The Spartans tied it up with a three of their own from Michael Volkening. Alfred then went on a scoring spree, scoring the games next 13 points, including two three pointers from LeMorta. Case Western then went on a 9-3, closing the deficit to seven points. Alfred halted the run as senior forward Tristin Hook converted his jump shot and Stopera hitting a three to make the game 24-15 at the halfway mark of the first half.
 
With 7:16 remaining in the first half, Alfred held their biggest lead of 17 points as Stopera made both of his free-throw attempts giving Alfred the 37-22 advantage. To close out the half, the Spartans went on a 21-10 run to give Alfred the 47-43 lead going into halftime.
 
To start the second half, Brown got the scoring going with a layup followed by a LeMorta jump shot. Case Western kept pace as Michael Hollins hit a three to keep within six points. LeMorta answered with a three of his own, giving Alfred the 54-46 advantage with 17:36 remaining in regulation. The Spartans found a spirt of offense, closing the gap to two as Hollins hot both of his free-throws to make the score 62-60 with 11:25 remaining in the half. Alfred pushed its lead back to six before Volkening hit a three to make it a 66-63 contest.
 
Case Western took its first lead of the gaem at the 7:37 mark as Brian Dompke knocked down his jump shot to make it a 69-68 game. Alfred regained the lead as Dagon made both of his free-throw attempts. Case Western took the lead for good at the 3:55 mark as Volkening converted two more free=throw attempts. Volkening would later put the game on ice, making his last two free-throw attempts with :18 remaining.
 
"Credit to Case Western," said Head Coach Russell Phillips. "They played really well tonight. We didn't get enough stops to come away with a win but we need to be ready for a good test tomorrow.
The Spartans held the advantage in rebounds, 35 to Alfred's 24. Alfred held the advantage in points off turnovers, 22 to Case Western's 12.
 
The Saxons are next in action tomorrow, as they face Washington and Jefferson in the consolation game of the Bill Sudeck Holiday Tournament.