ROCHESTER, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team contested St. John Fisher College in its first Empire 8 game of the season, but fell after a string of scoring sprees by the hosts, 97-73 on the road, Tuesday evening.
 
The Saxons (7-2, 0-1 Empire 8) were led by Kenneth Allison (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) who had 14 points, going 4-for-7 from the floor including his one 3-point attempt and was perfect from the free throw line, draining all five of his shots. He tacked on four rebounds. The Cardinals (6-3, 1-0 Empire 8) had two players with 20 or more points and another two players in double-digit scoring.
 
Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville) led the Saxons in rebounds with seven and blocks with two while Allison led in assists with four. Casey Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) was second on the team in rebounds with five while shooting a perfect 2-for-2 with a 3-pointer and adding two assists, one block and one steal.
 
Held a 24-23 lead with 9:42 remaining the first half with strong showings from Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) and Curran. Fisher took the lead with a 3-pointer with 8:48 remaining to start a 12-5 run, putting the Cardinals up, 35-29 with just under six minutes until half. Both teams battled back-and-forth for the remaining minutes, holding a closely contested Fisher run, 14-11, sending the game into halftime with a 49-40 lead for the hosts.
 
The Cardinals put up 48 points in the second half to close out the conference matchup.
 
The Saxons will next travel to Keuka College for their second Empire 8 matchup of the season. The E8 contest will have a 7:30pm tip-off on Friday, January 7.