ALFRED, N.Y. – The Alfred University men's basketball team couldn't recover from a hot shooting performance by St. John Fisher College, dropping a home 88-73 decision in Empire 8 action at the Terry S. Galanis Arena Friday night.
 
It was the Empire 8 opener for both Alfred (6-6, 0-1 Empire 8) and St. John Fisher (6-6, 1-0). It was also the first time the teams met since last season's Empire 8 Championship game back on Feb. 23, 2019, won by AU.
 
The Saxons shot well despite the loss, making 54.2 percent (26-of-48) of their shots from the field. Senior guard Sam Dagon (Hornell, N.Y./Hornell) led the way with a career-high 25 points, shooting 9-of-15 from the field and a healthy 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Junior guard Cole Eells (Ithaca, N.Y./Ithaca) chipped in 14 points off the bench (5-of-10 from the field), adding three steals. First-year guard Mike Schmidt (Olean, N.Y./Olean) was also a spark off the bench, with 10 points and three assists. Sophomore forward Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, N.Y./Ellicotville) added seven points, four rebounds, three steals, and two blocked shots.
 
Senior guard Dylan Harrington led the visitors with 20 points and five assists. He was one of five Cardinal participants in double figures. Fisher shot 55.2 percent (32-of-58) from the field and a blistering 52.4 percent (11-of-21) from beyond the arc. Both benches played well, as the Cardinal bench outscored the Saxon bench by a 42-35 margin.

"I credit St. John Fisher, they had a good game plan and executed it very well," said head coach Russell Phillips. "We didn't make it tough enough on them and have to make progress with limiting our turnovers. We need to be better tomorrow against Nazareth."
 
It was a back-and-forth game early on with both teams trading leads with small scoring runs. With the game tied at 14, the Cardinals went on an 11-4 run to take a seven-point, 25-18 lead at the 7:10 mark. AU answered, as consecutive 3-pointers by Eells and Dagon reduced the deficit to one. Fisher responded with a three, and AU kept fighting, as Dagon converted on the traditional three-point play to bring the deficit back to one. On the ensuing possession, Dagon picked off a Cardinals pass and went the distance with the fast break layup, giving the Saxons a 29-28 lead at the 5:08 mark. A pair of Schmidt free throws and another Dagon trey gave the Saxons its biggest lead of the game at 34-28, capping a 16-3 run.
 
Fisher would flip the script in the final four minutes of the half, finishing the period on a 13-2 spurt to take a 41-36 lead into halftime.
 
The Saxons couldn't keep pace with the Cardinals in the second half, as Fisher quickly opened up a double-digit lead. Down eight in the first five minutes, sophomore forward Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) made a pair of baskets, then Dagon launched another three, bringing the deficit to just three (52-49).
 
It was as close as the Saxons would get, as Fisher went on a back-breaking 19-5 run to open up a 14-point lead. The visitors held that double-digit lead for the remaining of the game, leading as many as 17 points, before settling to 15 after Dagon's final layup in the last minute of regulation.
 
The Saxons will look to bounce back on Saturday, as Nazareth (9-3, 1-0) comes to town for a 2 p.m. tilt. Fisher will head west to take on Houghton (2-10, 0-1), also at 2 p.m.