ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team played host to Clarkson University on day two of the Special-Tee's Tip-off Tournament.
 
The Saxons made a valiant effort to come back in the final minutes but wound up falling to the Golden Knights by a score of 73-71.
 
The Saxons led for the opening 10 minutes of the first half before a three from Clarkson made it 15-14. After that, AU never saw the lead again in the closely contested matchup.
 
The Golden Knights pushed their first half lead up to as many as eight points and ended the first 20 minutes leading the Saxons 32-26.
 
The second half was close the whole way and the Golden Knights proved to have an answer for every run the Saxons made.
 
Some missed free throws from Clarkson down the stretch allowed AU to work its way back into the contest.
 
With 1:27 on the clock Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY / Hornell) fired up a three that tied the game at 70.
 
Neither team could convert on their next set of possessions but when Clarkson regained the ball with just 28 seconds to play, they found Chris Hurlbert, who fired up a three and converted to put the game on ice.
 
The Saxons had one more chance on an out of bounds play with just one second remaining but that attempt was squandered as AU fell to its second straight defeat.
 
Dagon led the scoring for Alfred on the day with 19 points while handing out three assists. Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY / Ellicottville) finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY / Ithaca) scored 13 and grabbed six boards while dishing out three assists.
 
The Saxons will look to turn things around on Tuesday as they host SUNY Geneseo in Terry S. Galanis Family Arena at 7PM.