Men's Basketball | 12/30/2021 3:07:00 PM
LANCASTER, PA – A strong offensive effort from the Alfred University men's basketball team in the second half resulted in a 72-60 victory over Wilkes University during the consolation game of the Sponaugle New Years Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
The Saxons (7-2) bench scored 19 points in the victory. The defense held the Colonels (3-8) to 26.3 percent from three-point range.
Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) scored a team-high 15 points to go with three rebounds and two assists.
Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville) was named to the All-Tournament Team after totaling 12 points along with two boards.
Casey Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) finished with six points and four assists to go with a career-high nine rebounds.
"We love the depth on our roster," Head Coach
Erich Kaempffe said. "We have great players all the way down the roster, and I thought that was apparent today."
The Saxons relied on six different players to score their opening 14 points in the first half. A three-point shot from
Cole Eells (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) resulted in Alfred University leading by as many as four points. A 7-0 run from the Colonels was snapped by a successful layup from
Adam Enders (Belfast, NY/Belfast).
Kenneth Allison Jr (Troy, NY/Lansingburgh) scored four quick points in the final minute of the first half, as the Saxons led 32-30 at the break. Alfred University caught offensive momentum in the early minutes of the second half, as consecutive three-point shots from Curran sparked a 10-0 run by the Saxons to lead by as many as 13 points. Eight points from Bowen in the second half distanced AU's lead and ultimately sealed the victory.
"We're happy to be 7-2," Kaempffe said. "Winning is hard and our players have done a tremendous job so far. We have a lot of work to do across the board going forward, and we're excited to improve."
The Saxons will next travel to play St. John Fisher College on January 4 with tipoff scheduled at 7:30 PM.