ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team opened its Empire 8 Athletic Conference schedule with a 90-82 win over visiting Houghton College on Tuesday evening in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
 
Junior Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia) led the Saxons (8-2, 1-0 Empire 8) with a game-high 30 points and made that his new career-high mark. He shot 10-of-13 overall and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the 3-point arc while also tacking on a 5-of-6 performance at the free throw line.
 
He was followed by sophomore Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) who also posted a career-high with 21 points, going 8-for-13 from the field with one 3-pointer and added 4-of-5 free throw attempts.
 
The Saxons were also led by LeMorta in rebounds with seven total. Senior Tristin Hook (Red Bank, NJ/Middletown North) also scored in double-digits with 16 points on seven field goals and two free throws while also tying junior Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) with six rebounds each. Dagon led Alfred University with three assists while Brown led the home team with four steals.
 
"Houghton is a tough team, they are well coached and run their offense really well," Head Coach Russ Phillips said. "We were struggling early and Dom [LeMorta] came out aggressive and really kept us in the game in the first half. He had a tremendous game, not just in the scoring column. Our bench play was a big reason for the win, Sam [Dagon], Tristin [Hook] and Jeremiah Zitz (Irondequoit, NY/Irondequoit) all had big games for us which allowed us to take control of the game in the second half. We have different guys step up every game and that versatility is a great thing for us."
 
The Highlanders got the early lead and despite Alfred University never allowing more than a seven-point lead for Houghton, managed to keep it close right down to the last minute when LeMorta drained a three off an assist from Hook, giving AU the 33-32 advantage. Houghton responded with a layup with just over half a minute remaining to switch the team roles and go up, 34-33 which was held until the first half was over.
 
Houghton opened up the final 20 minutes of the game with a jumper to go up by three before a Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia) 3-pointer tied the game, 36-36 just seconds later. Alfred took its first lead of the evening when senior Nick Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) put in a layup for the 38-36 upper hand. The Saxons and Highlanders stayed steadily even as the visitors of Houghton earned the lead back with a 3-pointer with just over 15 and a half minutes remaining. LeMorta responded on the next possession with a layup to give Alfred University its final lead of the game with 15:20 remaining.
 
Alfred University finished the game with top leads of 16 points twice as they would go on to win by eight.
 
The Saxons' bench decimated the Highlanders' bench as they combined for 39 points while the visitors only had eight. The Saxons also led the Highlanders in points off of turnovers (11-7), points in the paint (36-28) and fast break points (6-2) while Houghton bested Alfred in second-chance points (7-4).
 
The Saxons will next take on two Empire 8 opponents this weekend. They will first host the Hawks of Hartwick College on Friday, January 5 at 6 PM. Then, they take on the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology at 2 PM on Saturday.