ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat host St. John Fisher College 86-81 Saturday afternoon at the Bobby Wanzer Court.
 
The Saxons (10-4,3-2 Empire 8) were led by junior forward Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) as he finished with the double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds (six offense, seven defense). Senior's Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) and Dalton Cousin (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) each chipped in 17 points for Alfred. Schmidt also finished the game with four assists and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
 
Junior forward Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) got off to a hot start for Alfred, scoring the team first five points including a three-pointer to give the Saxons an early 9-6 advantage in just two minutes of action. The Cardinals took control over the lead with 14:14 to go before half as Tyler English nailed his three-pointer to put Fisher up 15-12.
 
The Saxons had a tough time slowing down the Fisher offense in the first half as the Cardinals shot 60% from the field compared to Alfred's 40.63 %. With the hot shooting, Fisher gained a lead as much as 14 in the half and took a 51-39 lead into halftime.
 
"We showed a lot of heart and toughness today," said Head Coach Russell Phillips. "To be down 12 at half on the road and come away with a win is huge. Our defensive energy really picked up and we got a lot of timely stops."
 
The Cardinals extended their lead to 15 in the beginning of the second half as James Leone hit a three to make it 56-41 in favor of Fisher. Alfred would put a dent into the lead thanks to a tip-in from Cousin and Schmidt and junior guard Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) knocking down both of their free-throw attempts to make it 56-49 with 15:58 to go in regulation. Fisher pushed the lead back to double digits as James converted his and-one opportunity.
 
Alfred found a spark on offense and went on a 9-0 run that was capped off by a three-pointer by sophomore guard Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) with 12:42 to go in regulation to make it 59-58. Matt Asenjo halted the run with a three a minute later. Alfred would prevail, going on a 12-4 run thanks to first-year forward Jeremiah Zitz (Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit) having the go-ahead basket and back-to-back threes from Schmidt.
 
The Saxons held onto the lead for the remainder of the game thanks to a pair of free throws from Schmidt and Stopera to seal the victory.
 
Sammy Robinson led the way on both ends of the floor for Fisher as he finished with 21 points and nine rebounds. English finished with 14 points, respectively.
 
The Saxons took advantage of the extra offensive possessions as they out -cored the Cardinals, 18-10. The Cardinals however had the slight advantage in points in the paint, 36-30.

The Saxons wrap-up their three-game road trip at Elmira College on January 16 at 6 PM.