ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball secured their first Empire 8 victory of the season in a 67-64 win over Elmira College on Tuesday night from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.

The Saxons (8-3, 1-1 Empire 8) shot 43.3 percent from the field, while holding the Soaring Eagles (2-9, 0-2 Empire 8) to 25 percent from three-point range.

"I'm incredibly happy with our performance tonight," Head Coach Erich Kaempffe said. "Coach McGraw is doing a terrific job and Elmira is a tough opponent. I thought our guys showed tremendous toughness tonight."

Casey Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) led the Saxons with a season-high 13 points and nine rebounds. Sam Erickson (Franklinville, NY/Ten Broeck Academy) scored a season-high 12 points to go with three boards and a steal. Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) finished with 11 points in the victory.

Eells set the tone for the Saxons in the opening minutes of the first half, scoring the team's first five points. An 8-0 run by the Soaring Eagles was immediately answered by a 5-0 run by the Saxons.  Each team continued to trade successful shots, but eight points from both Eells and Erickson had AU leading 34-32 at the break.

A jumper at the 17:08 mark of the second half gave Elmira a brief lead before three consecutive points were scored by Darren Miller (Seneca Falls, NY/Mynderse). A 9-0 run by the Saxons had them leading by as many as seven points. The Soaring Eagles responded with a 7-0 run of their own, leaving the Saxons with a two-point advantage. After facing continuous pressure from Elmira's offense, a three-point shot from Eells at the 1:50 mark sealed the victory for the Saxons.

"Our goal is to be a little better tomorrow than we were today," Kaempffe said. "Hopefully we can do that every day for the rest of the season."

Alfred University will next host Russell Sage College on Friday with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 PM.