DAYTONA BEACH, FL – The Alfred University men's basketball team dropped its first non-conference game during the Land of Magic Classic against Mount Union on Saturday evening, 66-84.
 
Senior Sam Dagon (Hornell, NY/Hornell) was the high scorer for the entire game as he went 7-for-12 in field goals with one coming from beyond the 3-point arc. He tacked on a 4-of-5 performance from the free throw line to finish the Florida game with 19 points. First-year Darren Miller (Seneca Falls, NY/Mynderse) neared double-digit scoring with nine points in just eight minutes of play as he was perfect from the charity stripe, going 5-for-5 and adding two field goals on his three attempts.
 
"Mount Union is a very talented and well-coached team. It was a really good test for us coming off of break and we had some really good stretches," Head Coach Russell Phillips said. "We will continue to build on those stretches and work on being able to sustain the level we need to compete in the Empire 8 on a nightly basis."
 
Both halves were somewhat identical as Mount Union was able to score 41 points in the first and 43 in the second whereas the Saxons (4-4, 0-0 Empire 8) scored 32 in the first and 34 in the closing.
 
Defensively, the Saxons were led by the six rebounds from Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) and the five boards from Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville).
 
Mount Union's biggest issue was fouls as they finished with 24 team fouls on the day with 11 of their 15 participating players registering a foul. Alfred University only committed 13 fouls with now players having three or more personal fouls. The Saxons also held the advantage in steals with 11 total as Eells and Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) both robbed Raiders three times each. Mount Union only had seven steals.
 
The Saxons will next play Kenyon College to wrap up their stay in Florida on Monday, December 30 at 12 p.m. as they close out the 2019 portion of their schedule.