ELMIRA, NY – Head Coach Russell Phillips earns his 50^th win as the Alfred University men's basketball team took care of business on the road, defeating host Elmira College, 98-89.
 
The Saxons (11-4,4-2 Empire 8) were led by forward Dalton Cousin (Sherrill, NY/Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) as he finished with 25 points while adding eight rebounds. Junior guard Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) added 21 points with five assists. Junior forward Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glennville) chipped in 11 points with Junior forward Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) having 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Alfred opened the game on a 18-7 run with Cousin scoring six of his points in that stretch. Elmira answered with a run of their own, closing the gap to one point as Jeremy Evans knocked down his jumper to make it 22-21 with the advantage to Alfred at the halfway mark of the first half.
 
The Saxons gained an eight-point lead with 7:31 to go as sophomore guard Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) converted the backend of his two free throw attempts. The Soaring Eagles were able to close the gap with a Jesse Adelson layup to make it 39-37 going into halftime with Alfred out in front.
 
Elmira was able to knot the game up at 39 all as Adelson hit his jump shot. LeMorta answered with a three-pointer. Stopera found his spot behind the arc, hitting back-to-back threes to give Alfred a 55-48 lead with 15:56 to go in regulation. Elmira got a spark, going on a 10-4 run to cut the deficit to one 14:00 minutes to go as Henry Cuffee hit his jumper.
 
"It was a frantic up and down game and Scotty Stopera was great for us," said Head Coach Phillips. "He kept us calm and organized and hit some big shots in the second half. Dalton Cousin gave us a strong scoring presence in the paint and did a great job on the boards. We are looking forward to a home weekend.
 
Alfred was able to score eight unanswered points, giving them an 85-67 lead with 4:13 to go thanks to a strong scoring presence inside the paint with Brown and LeMorta driving the lane for the layups. Elmira had life late in the game, cutting Alfred's lead to four to make it 93-87 with under a minute left in regulation. Senior guard Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) hit two free throw down the stretch to put the game on ice.
 
Elmira was led offensively by Adelson with 19 points and seven boards with Cuffee adding 16 points and eight rebounds, respectively.
 
The Saxons controlled the paint at ease, outscoring Elmira, 48-26. Alfred also had the advantage in fast break points, 9-2
 
With the win, the Saxons move to 11-4 overall, which is the best start for the program since 2013-14 when they opened the season 11-4 in the first 15 games under Head Coach Dale Wellman. Prior to that, the Saxons had not had a better 15-game start since 1988-89 when they opened up 12-3 under Head Coach Roman Catalino. The best 15-game start in AU history came in 1985-86 when the Saxons went 14-1 under Head Coach Ron Frederes. That team continued on to defeat Nazareth in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, before being defeated by Potsdam in the second round.
 
The Saxons return home as they host The Sage Colleges on Friday, January 19 at 6 PM in conference play.