ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team picked up a 36-point, Empire 8 win over visiting Houghton College, defeating the Highlanders in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena, 89-53 on Tuesday evening.
 
The Saxons (10-6, 3-4 Empire 8) had lead after the third basket of the game when Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville) put in a layup from a Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) pass at the 17-minute mark of the first half. AU would not relinquish the lead or even allow a tie for the remainder of the evening.
 
Alfred University would continue to build it lead to 26 points by the time the halftime buzzer went off, leading 43-17 at the half. The Saxons scored another 46 points in the second half with, at one point, having a 44-point lead after a fastbreak layup from Anthony Ruffino (North Tonawanda, NY/Niagara Wheatfield), making it an 83-39 game with 5:17 remaining in the game. "Our guys have been working really hard in practice over the last few days, so it was nice for them to get a result that reflected that," Head Coach Erich Kaempffe said.
 
23 Saxons recorded playing time while 15 of them scored at least one point in the contest and four of them had double-digit scoring. Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and Bowen led the way with 15 and 14 points on the night, respectively. Marshall pulled down a team-high six rebounds while adding a block and a steal. Bowen had five boards, four assists and a steal.
 
Eells followed in points with 13 and joined both Marshall and Bowen with five field goals each, two of Eells' being from 3-point range. Eells added three rebounds, three assists and a team-high three steals. Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points and a game-high eight assists. His assists were more than the entire Houghton team combined as the Highlanders had only six assists on their 22 field goals. He added one steal and one defensive rebound.
 
AU totaled 38 rebounds compared to HC's 23. 21 of the Saxons' 29 field goals were assisted and the Saxons had a commanding lead in steals, 13-3.
 
The Saxons will next have a two-game road weekend when they first travel to Nazareth College on Friday, January 28 for a 7:30pm tip-off. "Naz is a great team. They play incredibly hard and are incredibly well coached," Coach Kaempffe said. "We're excited for the challenge and look forward to preparing for them." The Saxons will return home for their Saxons-for-Saxon matchup with Keuka College on Tuesday, February 1 at 7:30pm in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.