Alfred Moves On, Hartwick Falls During Opening Round of 2019 NCAA Tournament

3/1/2019 9:29:56 PM

The Alfred Men's team knocked off a defending national semifinalist, while the Hartwick Women's team fell in a heartbreaker during the First Round of the 2019 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments.

Alfred 92, Ramapo 76
Alfred senior Dom LeMorta helped lead the Saxons to a 92-76 win over Ramapo Friday night in Newport News, Virginia on the campus of Christopher Newport. LeMorta scored 45 points, just one point short of tying the program's record for points in a single game. The Saxons (24-4) advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 1985-86 season and will play Saturday, March 2 at 7:00 p.m. against the host school in the Freeman Center.
 
Alfred advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament for only the second time in program history behind LeMorta's 45-point performance – setting a record for the most points scored in a single game in the Freeman Center. As a team, the Saxons extended their win streak to 14, which is tied for the program record, while also moving within one win of tying the program record for wins a season (25) set by the historic 1985-86 team. LeMorta was 7-of-12 (58.3%) from the field, including 5-of-8 (62.5%) from three-point range in the second half. Overall, he shot 16-of-27 (59.3%) from the field in the game.

Emmanuel 69, Hartwick 65
The sensational season for the Hartwick women's basketball team came to a heartbreaking end on Friday night in New Paltz, as the Hawks came close but could not overcome a seven-point fourth quarter deficit to Emmanuel in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, ultimately falling 69-65. Hartwick, in their first NCAA Tournament since 2014, finishes at 23-5, tied for the second-most wins in a season in program history. Emmanuel is now 24-5, and plays the winner of Rutgers-Newark and SUNY New Paltz tomorrow for a chance to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Five different Hawks were between 10 and 13 points, the team-high. Caitlin Corbett had 13 points and eight rebounds. Kelly Pine registered her fourth double-double of the year, with a season-high 15 boards and 11 points. Mary Schoenherr was not far from a triple-double, scoring 10 points, grabbing eight rebounds, and dishing out seven assists. Carly Johnson had 12 points and two blocks in the final collegiate game of her accomplished career, and Maggie Kirby was the final double-digit scorer with 12 points and five rebounds.

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The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit www.empire8.com and https://youtu.be/wzL4HcDoUUQ