ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team celebrated their Senior Day with a 71-61 win over Elmira College on Saturday afternoon from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
Prior to the game, the men's basketball program took time to recognize the collegiate careers of
Kevin Durkin (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Collegiate),
Anthony Ruffino (Buffalo, NY/Niagara Wheatfield),
Darren Miller (Seneca Falls, NY/Mynderse Academy),
Casey Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone),
Serigne Fallou Diop (New York, NY/Washington Irving),
Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) and
Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Mike Schmidt).
The win for the Saxons (19-6, 14-4) marks just the second time in program history they have achieved 14 or more Empire 8 conference regular season victories, with the other instance being in the 2018-19 season.
"There are no words to properly describe what this group means to Alfred University or to me," Head Coach
Erich Kaempffe said. "They are first class human beings and I'm honored to be able to work with them every day."
The Saxons relied on Marshall early and often in the first half, as he was responsible for scoring 13 of the team's first 19 points. A jump shot from
Gabe Eldaye (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) gave AU their first double-digit advantage of the game. The Soaring Eagles closed out the first half on a 10-0 run, but the Saxons still led 32-29 going into the break. Elmira remained in rhythm early in the second half, cutting their deficit down to just one point with under 15 minutes remaining in the game. Later in the half, back-to-back 3-point shots from Marshall was followed by a layup from Miller to extend AU's lead back to 10 points. The defense for Alfred University limited Elmira to just seven points across the final five minutes of action to hold on for the win.
"We're excited to prepare for Medaille," Kaempffe said. "We have so much respect for them and how and they compete. We know they will be ready to go."
Alfred University will next host Medaille University for the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament on Tuesday with tip-off at 7:00 PM.
