ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team celebrated senior day in their home matchup against Hartwick on Saturday from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena. AU fell short in overtime, losing by just one basket, 74-72.
Senior Robby Hicks (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) led the Saxons with a career-high 19 points to along with three steals and five triples. Nolan Gilbert (Mechanicsburg, PA/Cumberland Valley) posted 11 points while Zion Baitey (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) and Tyler Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) recorded nine points and seven rebounds apiece. Senior Franlys Valenzuela (Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic/San Ysidro) led the rebounding the effort with eight boards.
The Hawks broke open the scoring first, jumping out to an early 16-3 lead. However, the Saxons found their rhythm and responded with a 8-0 run, making it a 16-11 deficit. After Hartwick answered with a quick jumper, Hicks followed a Baitey layup with his first 3-pointer of the game to cut the lead to within a bucket, 18-16. As both sides continued trading baskets, AU tied it all up at 23-23 with a perfect trip to the line from Curran and a layup from Luke Penna (Southington, CT/Southington). Hicks later found his second three of the game with just over three minutes remaining before the break, giving the Saxons their first lead of the contest. The Hawks managed to close the first half with a leg up as they led by a single point, 31-30.
AU found themselves on the back foot in the opening minutes of the second half as they were down 37-34. Through consecutive threes from Hicks, the Saxons pulled themselves in front. After some more back-and-forth, the game was tied at 45-45 with 11:14 remaining. Alfred University, through a string of baskets from first-year Josh Ademiju (Elkridge, MD/Howard), Tyler Hind (Randolph, NY/Randolph) and Baitey, put themselves ahead once more at 53-45. Hartwick shortly recovered with a run of their own to break even at 55-55. Gilbert was able to cut into their momentum with a timely three to take a quick lead. The time continued ticking before the final horn as neither side was able to gain any real control of the contest. With just less than a minute remaining, Hartwick drew consecutive trips to the line to take a 67-64 lead. In what was a textbook display of clutch shooting, Hind drilled a timely triple with 10 seconds remaining to even the playing field and send the game into extras.
AU struck first to take the one-point lead in overtime as Hind once again knocked down a decisive shot from long distance, 70-69. After the Hawks took the lead with a triple of their own, Hicks tied the game once more, hitting a jumper with 27 seconds remaining. Hartwick was able to find a last-second basket to win the nail-biter.
"I'm so appreciative of this group of seniors," Head Coach Erich Kaempffe said. "They've all been through many challenges, both individually and collectively and they've never stopped supporting one another. I couldn't be more sure that they'll be successful professionals, and great husbands and fathers if that's something they choose to do. I cannot thank them enough for their contributions to the program."
Alfred University will remain home where they will next face off against Houghton University in Empire 8 action on Tuesday, February 17 for their final game. Tipoff is set for 7:30pm.
--Swords Forward Saxons--
