ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team turned up the pressure late, erasing a double-digit deficit in a wild 63-58 victory over Elmira, in Empire 8 action at the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena Sunday afternoon.

The Saxons (4-2, 4-2 Empire 8) sit in fourth place in the Empire 8 standings with four games to go, while Elmira falls to 1-6 (1-4 Empire 8) overall.
 
The Saxons struggled early, falling behind by 12 points at halftime, before the Saxons righted the ship defensively and got easy baskets on the other end in the second stanza, outscoring Elmira by a 38-21 margin. AU survived a cold shooting night, shooting 36.2 percent (17-of-47) from the field, but made 26-of-34 shots from the free throw line and forced 18 Elmira turnovers.
 
Sophomore forward Darren Miller (Seneca Falls, NY/Seneca Falls) led the way with 20 points, shooting a healthy 8-of-10 from the field, adding four rebounds. Sophomore guard Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) added 10 points, five assists, and three steals. Sophomore guard Adam Enders (Belfast, NY/Belfast) also tallied 10 points. First year guard Leo McCausland (New York, NY/Brooklyn Collegiate) played just three minutes, but got the Saxons going with two points, three rebounds and an assist.
 
Isiah Charles led the Soaring Eagles with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Quintel Clements added eight points and seven rebounds.
 
"It definitely was a tale of two halves," said head coach Russell Phillips. "I thought we came out really flat, we weren't talking, and we didn't have enough energy. In the second half, Mike Schmidt really set the tone, and then Leo came in and got us going on both ends, and the bench really got into the game. We took it possession by possession and got it done."
 
The second half began with a jumper by Elmira's Kyle Kokoskie, and a free throw by Charles pushed Elmira's lead to its largest at 15, 40-25. Schmidt nailed a jumper on the other end, beginning a quick 6-0 run that cut the lead to single digits. Miller then got busy for the Saxons, tallying four straight points to begin another 10-0 run, cutting the Elmira lead to four.
 
Charles hit a jumper with 8:22 to go in regulation, pushing the Elmira lead to eight, before the Saxons made another run. Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) hit a jumper in the paint to cut the deficit to six (50-44). A few possessions later, Marshall grabbed an offensive rebound after a missed three, finding Anthony Ruffino (North Townawanda, NY/Niagara-Wheatfield) on the wing for a triple, cutting the deficit in half. Marshall then received a nifty post pass from Miller on the left side of the paint, scoring to cut the lead to just one. After an Elmira turnover, Marshall grabbed another offensive board, returning the favor and finding Miller for the basket, giving Alfred a 51-50 lead, its first of the game with 5:23 to go.
 
Both teams traded baskets for a few minutes, before Alfred utilized the free throw game to hold a slim lead. Up one in the final minute of the game, the Saxons defense stood tall, forcing a pair of missed shots by Charles, and the Saxons hit free throws to preserve the five-point victory.
 
The Saxons will once again hit the road midweek for the final road swing of the regular season, beginning with a visit to Houghton.
 
"Houghton is a good team and played us tough here," Phillips said. "We going to have to make the right adjustments from this game and really try to focus on us and get better at our base stuff from both ends."
 
Alfred will tip-off from Houghton College at 7 p.m. Thursday.