Men's Basketball | 11/12/2021 10:12:00 PM
ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University men's basketball team upped its win streak to three with a 75-72 victory over Ithaca College on Friday evening from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena in the second game of the Special Tees Tip-Off Classic.
The Saxons (3-0, 0-0 Empire 8) faced a four-point deficit in the final two minutes before
Kevin Durkin (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Collegiate) drained a 3-pointer off a pass from
Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville), making it a one-point game, 72-71 in favor of the Bombers (0-1, 0-0 Liberty League). The bucket that would ultimately go down as the game-winner occurred with just seconds left in the game as
Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) rolled a layup in, making it 73-72.
Kenneth Allison Jr. (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) added a pair of free throws for insurance and forcing IC to attempt a 3-pointer to tie the game as the scoreboard showed zeros.
"Ithaca is such a good offensive team and I was so proud of our second half effort defensively," Head Coach
Erich Kaempffe said. "A lot of credit to our players. We had some guys make fearless plays late in the game."
Friday's game had little shifts in the score lead as the Bombers held, at two points in the first half, a 10-point advantage. AU pushed back, leading to their first lead just over four and a half minutes remaining in the opening period as
Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) knocked in a jumper making it 26-25 in favor of the Saxons. The lead did not last as Ithaca ended the first half with a seven-point lead, 40-33.
Bowen earned the next Saxon lead with a solo jumper of his own just four minutes into second half, making it 46-45. Ithaca responded with a layup to retake the momentum before Bowen and Marshall connected for another Saxon lead, 48-47 from the Bowen layup. Neither team would gain more than a five-point lead as they exchanged blows the rest of the half before the Saxons closed out the win, making it the a three-win streak to open up Coach Kaempffe's Saxon coaching career.
Friday's victory was also the third game in a row where Eells led the Saxons in points, hitting a season-high 23 points as he scored on five 3-pointers and another four buckets from inside of the arc. He was also credited with three of the Saxons' five steals and added four defensive rebounds to his nightly resume. Bowen and Marshall both scored 10 points as Bowen recorded a double-double, leading AU in rebounds with 10. Marshall led the game with four blocked shots.
The Saxons will next face another Liberty League opponent in St. Lawrence University across the street at Alfred State on Saturday, November 13 at 2:00pm. The Saints defeated the Pioneers in the Special Tees Tip-Off Classic opening game, 80-67. A-State will take on Ithaca College at 4:00pm tomorrow.
-- Masks Up and Swords Forward Saxons --