HOUGHTON, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team opened Empire 8 play at Houghton College on Tuesday night. The Saxons (8-2, 1-0 Empire 8) dominated the entire way in the 85-54 victory.
 
The first half began with the teams trading buckets before Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) sparked a 12-0 run with back to back three pointers to give the Saxons a 14-5 lead just five minutes in. 
 
The offense continued to roll for Alfred, as they scored a season high 53 points in the first half alone. The Saxons shot an astounding 53 percent from beyond the arc on their way to a 53-34 halftime lead. 
 
AU didn't have any troubles keeping the pace coming out of the locker room and were able to get the majority of the bench involved in the action. The Saxons outscored the Highlanders 32-20 in the second half to secure the conference win.
 
"Complete team win tonight," Head Coach Russell Phillips said.  "We had good energy and competed." 
 
Eells was on fire from deep; going 5-7 from behind the three-point line for a team high 17 points. Sage Brown (Cortland, NY/Cortland) had two three's of his own while scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) chipped in 13 points and Scotty Stopera (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville) dished out 10 assists. 14 different Saxons were able to get in on the scoring in the run-away victory. 
 
AU will be back home for a busy weekend, hosing Utica College on Friday evening at 7:30PM then Hartwick College on Saturday at 4PM.