E8 Wins for Alfred, Houghton, SJFC and Stevens
ALFRED 80, Elmira 51
Tyler Seelman and Dalton Walsh both had a huge game on way to lead Alfred University (8-3, E8 2-1) to an 80-51 victory over the Elmira College Soaring Eagles.
Seelman was lights out all night and shot a game-high 28 points on 11-of-15 (73.3%) shots while adding four assists and one steal to his night. Walsh notched his fourth double-double on the season (second in a row) while adding two assists and two blocks.
The Saxons, who are coming off a loss to Hartwick College, rebounded incredibly into tonight and began the game with a 10-0 run over the first five minutes. Over the course of that run Walsh scored six of his 20 points and added an emphatic dunk that set the bench on fire.
Throughout the rest of the half the Saxons defense was untouchable forcing eight turnovers and only allowing Elmira to shot 30.0% from the field and 18.2% from behind the arc. The Soaring Eagles did, however, go on a 10-2 run in the final 3:22 of the first half which brought them within 13 points at the intermission. As both teams headed to the locker room, the Saxons were on top 35-20.
In the second half the game was not much of a contest with the entire Alfred team shooting with sniper-like precision hitting 15-of-22 (68.2%) shots and 6-of-7 (85.7%) from three-point range. The Saxons found their largest lead in the closing minute of the game when sophomore
Clark Brueckl hit his only shot of the night from 3PT land to put the Saxons 80-51, which would prove to be the final.
Eric Adams and Ryan Mahon both distributed the ball around for the Saxons on the night accounting for four assists apiece.
HOUGHTON 65, Nazareth 60
Host Houghton seized the lead for good midway through the second half Tuesday and the Highlanders held on for a 65-60 men's basketball victory over Nazareth at the Nielsen Center.
The game was the Empire 8 Conference opener for the Golden Flyers, who dropped to 4-6 overall. Houghton improved to 5-6 overall and 1-2 in conference games.
Houghton led by as many as 11 points, 52-41, folloowing two free throws by Brennan Campbell with 8:10 left. Nazareth staged a furious comeback and closed to within two, 52-50, following two free throws by Nick Nadeau with 5:36 to play. Houghton's John Nelson answered with a three-pointer on the Highlanders' nex possession to extend the lead to five, 55-50, and Nazareth couldn't recover. Nazareth's only three-pointer of the game came from Nadeau with :09 left to cut the deficit to three, 63-60, but Houghton's Brandon Camacho knocked down two foul shots with 8.4 seconds left to seal the win.
The first half was high on energy but short on execution for the Golden Flyers, who trailed 28-25 despite 16 points from Mills. Nazareth made just 8 of 28 field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes and went 0 for 6 from three-point range. The Golden Flyers also committed 12 turnovers.
Maurice Mills scored 10 of Nazareth's first 12 points as the Golden Flyers led 12-9. He also scored late in the half to put Nazareth ahead 23-20, but Houghton responded with late three-pointers by Phil Pellegrino and Brandon Camacho to go up 28-23 with :40 left in the half. Nazareth had the final possession of the half and
Nick Nadeau pulled up for a short jumper as time expired to make it 28-25.
Phil Pellegrino was Houghton's high scorer with 13 points. Camacho added 12 and Jonathan Stowe contributed 11 to go with 16 rebounds. Houghton went 23 for 62 from the field (37.1 percent) and 8 for 24 from three-point range.
Nazareth was led by Mills with a game-high 27 points and 20 rebounds. Nadeau added 17 points. The Golden Flyers shot just 33.3 percent of their field goal attempts (19-for-57) and went 1 for 13 from three-point range.
ST. JOHN FISHER 92, Ithaca 61
The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team pushed its winning streak to eight games and gained sole possession of first place in the Empire 8 Conference, as the Cardinals cruised to a 92-61 win at Ithaca College on Tuesday night.
With the win, Fisher improves to 10-2 overall and 3-0 in the Empire 8 Conference. The eighth straight victory marks the longest winning streak since Fisher won the final eight games of the 2012-2013 regular season.
The 10-2 start is also the best start to a season since 2009-2010 when the Cardinals won 12 of their first 14 games. That year, the Cardinals earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Championship and posted a 23-6 overall record.
It is the 31
st consecutive season the Cardinals have reached double-digits in the win-column.
Fisher, who scored a season-high 92 points, was in control from the opening tip.
Fisher jumped out to a 16-6 lead just over six minutes into the game and pushed its lead to 19 points at 47-28 going into the second half, as the Cardinals shot 60.7% (17-for-28) in the opening period.
Fisher kept its foot on the gas throughout the second half, enjoying at least a 20-point lead for the final 15 minutes of the game.
The Cardinals used a balanced offensive with four players scoring in double figures, and four others scoring at least six points.
Sophomore
Keegan Ryan led the way with 18 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Senior
Adam Ambielli finished with 14 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior point guard
Chaz Lott chipped in with 13 points and team-high eight assists, while
Stefan Bock added 11 points, six assists and team-high three steals.
Tyler Hart scored eight points, while
Tyler English and
Zach Ottaway each notched seven points.
Alex Sausville drained two 3-pointers to finish with six points.
As a team, Fisher shot 56.7% from the floor and finished the contest with a 35-26 advantage on the glass.
STEVENS 71, Utica 52
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team held Utica College to just 18 points over the final 20 minutes of game time in a 71-52 Empire 8 win over the Pioneers Tuesday night in the Canavan Arena.
The win pushes to the Ducks to 2-1 in the Empire 8 and 5-6 overall. Utica falls to 0-3 in the conference and 4-8 on the season.
Stevens outscored Utica 35-18 in the final stanza behind excellent defense and strong execution on both ends of the floor. The Ducks also held Utica forward Conor Maisch (Kingston, N.Y.) off the scoreboard in the second half after he scored 12 in the first on 4-for-5 from deep. Senior forward
Kenny Gan (Hillsborough, N.J.) drew the assignment of guarding Maisch in the second and was excellent, allowing his counterpart to get off two total shots – both misses. Gan was strong all-around throughout the game, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
Leading 47-44 with 9:23 remaining, the Ducks erupted on a 12-0 run to open a 15-point lead that changed the game. Sophomore guard
Thomas Ahern (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) drilled a three to get things started and sophomore forward
Otis Osman (Far Hills, N.J.) converted a feed from freshman guard
Austin Marchese (Northport, N.Y.) to give the Ducks a 52-44 margin. Osman scored five-straight points on the back of a three and two at the line to help the Ducks open a 57-44 lead, and a layup from junior guard
Alex Lorenz (Point Pleasant, N.J.) made it 59-44 Ducks with 6:39 on the clock.
Utica was able to get within 12 on several occasions, but a three-pointer from senior forward
Patrick Sabatino (Westfield, N.J.), a layup from Lorenz and another triple from sophomore guard
Patrick Barron (Oradell, N.J.) turned a 12-point lead to 20 in 1:28 of game time and that sealed the win.
The first half featured 12 made three-pointers – six from each team – and the two teams went into the intermission with the scoreboard showing 36-34, Ducks.
Stevens started strong, jumping out to a 16-9 lead after a three-pointer Ahern, but the Pioneers quickly countered with an 11-3 run to take a 20-19 lead with 8:38 to play in the first. Stevens went back up seven two more times in the first thanks to a triples from sophomore guard
Patrick Barron (Long Valley, N.J.) and junior forward
Alex Lorenz (Point Pleasant, N.J.), and again, Utica would respond, trimming the Duck margin to two before the break.
In total, the Ducks finished the game with a season high 12 three-pointers (on 30 attempts) and shot 46.6 percent for the game (27-for-58). Stevens held a 32-30 edge on the glass and assisted on 19 of their 27 made baskets, had six team blocks and nine team steals. The Ducks committed a season-low seven turnovers and received 19 points off the bench.
Barron finished with a career-high 17 points, connecting on five triples. Osman had 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists, and in addition to Gan's strong game, Sabatino finished with nine points and four blocked shots. Lorenz led the Stevens bench with 11 points, while point guard
Michael Langford (Staten Island, N.Y.) had four points, a career-high six assists and one steal.
Maisch led the Utica offense with 12 points as the Pioneers shot 40.4 percent for the game, and 9-for-20 (45 percent) from deep.
|
SCHOOL |
CONF |
OVERALL |
|
St. John Fisher |
3-0 |
10-2 |
|
Hartwick |
2-0 |
7-4 |
|
Alfred |
2-1 |
8-3 |
|
Stevens |
2-1 |
5-6 |
|
Elmira |
1-2 |
3-7 |
|
Houghton |
1-2 |
5-6 |
|
Ithaca |
1-2 |
3-8 |
|
Nazareth |
0-1 |
4-6 |
|
Utica |
0-3 |
4-8 |