By: Alfred University Athletic Communications
The Alfred University men's basketball team erased a 16-point, first half deficit with a strong second half performance, leading to a wild 74-71 victory over Houghton College Saturday afternoon at the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
Alfred wins its season and Empire 8 Conference opener to improve to 1-0, 1-0 E8. This is the first game for the Saxons in over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Houghton dropped its second consecutive conference game to open the season at 0-2, 0-2 E8.
"It's been a long road to get to this game and I'm really proud of our guys for how they were able to control what they can," Head coach
Russell Phillips said. "They fought through pauses and limited practices and they just stayed focused the whole way through. I'm proud of how mature they've been through all this."
Sophomore guard
Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) led the Saxons with a career-high 23 points on an impressive 7-for-12 from the field, adding six assists and five rebounds. Junior forward
Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) contributed with 18 points to go with two blocks and two steals. Junior guard
Kevin Durkin (Buffalo, NY/St. Joseph's Collegiate) and sophomore guard
Adam Enders (Belfast, NY/Belfast) remained perfect from the free throw line, combining for 22 points. The Saxons shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field and scored 44 of their points during the second half.
Senior guard Jordan Holmes recorded a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Highlanders. Forward Billy McCrae scored a team-high 19 points, as Houghton shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field.
After a nip-and-tuck first few minutes by both teams, Houghton erupted midway through the opening half, stretching its lead to 31-15 at the 4:26 mark, after a 16-3 run. The Saxons chipped away at their early deficit; Durkin hit a jumper in the final seconds of the first half as Houghton hit the break with a 41-30 deficit.
Alfred returned to action in the second half with a renewed sense of purpose on the defensive end, leading to easy buckets and an 11-0 run to tie the game at 41. With the Saxons down 45-41, Marshall hit a pair of threes to give the Saxons their first lead since the opening minutes. Schmidt and
Casey Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) then turned it on offensively, combining for nine consecutive AU points, capped off by a Schmidt and-one basket to take a nine-point, 66-57 lead with 2:42 to go in the game.
"Mike [Schmidt] is a special player, and he took a big jump leadership-wise and maturity-wise in the off-season," Phillips said. "He approaches practice every day like it's a game, and that's contagious. He had an outstanding game in the second half and that lifted us."
Houghton went on a late rally, but efficient free throw shooting in the final minutes allowed Alfred kept the game out of reach. The team finished the game 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the charity stripe.
"It was really less about adjustments and more about mindset," Phillips said. "Being that it was our first game, we knew there was going to be some rough patches."
The Saxons will remain at home as they host Keuka College on Tuesday. Tip-off will begin at 5:30pm.