BUFFALO, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team opened up its season with a close victory over D'Youville College on Monday night. The Saxons (1-0, 0-0 Empire 8) defeated the Spartans by a score of 83-77.   
 
AU jumped out to a quick 13-5 lead after five minutes of play before D'Youville settled in and scored six unanswered to make it 13-11. The Saxons kept a narrow lead throughout the first half up until the 2:28 mark of the first half when the Spartans would work their way back to tie the score at 33. Alfred would go into the break with a slim 37-35 lead.
 
The second half remained tight, with Alfred jumping out to a 40-35 lead to begin the period. D'Youville continued to stay around, making runs to stay within reach. It wasn't until there was 12:17 left in the game that the Spartans would take their first lead, going up 54-53 thanks to a three-point bucket from Jake Socha. The two teams continued to trade buckets, with D'Youville taking its largest lead of the game at the 9:41 mark of the second half when they lead 64-61.
 
Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) would quickly help the Saxons regain control the game when he hit one of his three triples on the evening with just over nine minutes to play to tie the game at 64 all. The Saxons would inch their way forward from there and go up by as much as eight points on their way to the six point road victory.
 
LeMorta had a big night for AU, leading the offense with 22 points. First Year forward Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville) had 20 points on 7-9 shooting and was huge on the boards with 13 rebounds. He also added one block on the night and converted on 6 of 7 free throws. Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end to allow for second chance points for the Saxons. Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) and Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) each had eight points while Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) had seven points and led the team with five assists. 
 
"I was pleased with our effort tonight. It was a physical game and we responded well on the boards and got the timely stops we needed down the stretch to come away with the win," Head Coach Russell Phillips said. "We have a lot to clean up on the offensive end but its good to get a win to start off the season."
 
The Saxons will be at home this upcoming Saturday versus Bryant and Stratton College of Buffalo.