ONEONTA, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team tipped off its weekend with a 63-61 loss to Hartwick College on Friday night from the Lambros Arena.

Tyler Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) led Alfred University with a double-double, scoring a team-high of 26 points while adding 10 rebounds. Zion Baitey (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) added 13 points of his own, and Franlys Valenzuela (Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic/San Ysidro) added 10 rebounds of his own.

The Saxons took an early 14-4 lead, shooting 70% in the field, and capitalizing on six early points from Baitey. The Hawks gained some traction scoring eight points on two straight threes and a layup. Following an 11-2 run led by a Curran up-and-under layup and a Gennaro Picco (Hornell, NY/Hornell) 3-pointer, Alfred remained in control 23-15. In the closing minutes of the first half, Hartwick went on a 16-3 run to take a six-point lead heading into the break. The Saxons didn't waste time to even the score, following a Baitey layup and a Tyler Hind (Randolph, NY/Randolph) 3-pointer within the first minute of the half. Alfred's lead got up to nine, nearing the 10-minute mark in the half, with help from a hot-handed Curran. Hartwick fought their way back into the game, scoring seven straight points and bringing the score within one. The game remained a back-and-forth match up with both teams capitalizing on offense. In the final seconds of the game, the Hawks added three points on free throws to secure the win.

"Another close one," Head Coach Erich Kaempffe said. "No one in our locker room is happy - but we are going to stay together and work as hard as we can when we wake up in the morning."

The Saxons will travel to compete with Russell Sage College on Saturday at 4:00 PM.