ALFRED, NY – A late rally for the Alfred University men's basketball team led to a 78-74 regular season finale win against Houghton University on Tuesday night from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena. 
 
Josh Ademiju (Elkridge, MD/Howard) led the way with 13 points and a game-high 21 rebounds. Gennaro Picco (Hornell, NY/Hornell) registered 12 points to go with eight assists and three steals on the defensive end. Robby Hicks (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa) added 21 points off the bench for AU.

"This was obviously not the season we wanted, and we know we have a long offseason of work ahead of us," Head Coach Erich Kaempffe said. "But I am so happy to get to go work together for the next six months coming off a win. We are all committed to working as hard as we can between now and next fall."
 
An early deep shot by Tyler Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) gave Alfred University their first lead of the evening. Consecutive baskets from Ademiju and Zion Baitey (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) had the Saxons leading by as many as eight points. The defense was strong in the early stages of the game, limiting the Highlanders to just seven points across the first 10 minutes of action. Houghton climbed back into the game, tying the contest with under three minutes to play in the first half. Baitey was the lone Saxon to score in the closing stages of the half, as AU trailed 33-26 going into the break. 
 
Picco converted from beyond the arc to open scoring in the second half. With the Highlanders leading by as many as 12 points, the Saxons relied on a layup from Luke Penna (Southington, CT/Southington) to cut into the deficit with roughly 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Back-to-back deep shots by Hicks and Picco turned the game into a one-possession contest with eight minutes to play. Later in the half, a 3-point shot by Hicks tied the game with 2:23 remaining. Shortly after, the Saxons took back the lead following a layup by Ademiju. Hicks converted from the free throw line on four straight attempts within the final 17 seconds of the game to extend the advantage and close out the game with the win for AU.