COBLESKILL, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team picked up its third straight victory on Saturday afternoon in a 61-57 win over SUNY Cobleskill. The Saxons improved to 7-1 on the season prior to the three week holiday break.
 
The first half was back and forth for the most part with neither team going up by more than seven points. The Saxons were able to gain a 19-12 advantage with 5:43 left to play in the first quarter but the Fighting Tigers were able to work their way back to make it 28-24 at the half.
 
The second half was more of the same with Alfred holding a slight lead throughout the opening minutes. The Saxons extended their lead to as many as 11 after a fast-break bucket and good free throw from Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicottville). A three and some fast-break points from Cobleskill helped cut the lead down to two with 10:55 to play.
 
After a few minutes of the teams trading buckets, AU went on a run capped off by a three pointer from Dom LeMorta (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) to push the Saxon lead back to 10 with 4:30 left in regulation.
 
The Saxons then buckled down on defense and made some clutch free throws late in the game to secure the win.
 
"We persevered today. We didn't shoot well on the arc but found a way to get it done," Head Coach Russell Phillips said. "Our defense kept us in the game and that has to continue to be our identity."
 
Bowen led the scoring for AU with 23 points, going an efficient 10-12 from the field. LeMorta added 13 points and seven rebounds while Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) had a career high 12 assists and went 5-6 from the foul stripe.
 
Alfred will be off until January 5^th when they host The College at Brockport at 5PM.