Men's Basketball | 1/19/2024 10:02:00 PM
ALFRED, NY – Late free throws from
Tyler Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) gave Alfred University men's basketball team a 54-53 win over Keuka College on Friday evening from the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
The Saxons (7-9, 4-3 Empire 8) dished out a season-high 16 assists against the Wolves (5-8, 3-3 Empire 8) as part of their win.
Gabe Eldaye (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna) scored a team-high 15 points to go with 4 rebounds. Curran finished the game with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a pair of steals.
Franlys Valenzuela (Santiago de los Cabelleros, Dominican Republic/San Ysidro) brought in a team-high 15 rebounds, which now places him within the top 10 for rebounds in a single season (162).
"I'm really proud of how even-keeled we stayed," Head Coach
Erich Kaempffe said. "There were a lot of late lead changes, and our guys were able to get making the right plays. A lot of credit to Keuka, who played well tonight."
Eldaye sparked the AU offense early in the opening half, scoring six of the team's first seven points. A 7-0 run by the Saxons had them leading by as many as eight points halfway through the first half. Alfred University was held scoreless across the final five minutes but maintained a 22-16 lead going into halftime.
Curran opened scoring for the Saxons with a deep shot in the second half. Additional back-to-back shots from beyond the arc from Curran gave AU their first double-digit advantage of the evening. The Wolves responded with a 16-3 run which left the Saxons trailing with just over four minutes remaining. Seconds later,
Zion Baitey (Morristown, NJ/Morristown) hit a clutch three-point shot to tie the game. Successful free throws from the Wolves were answered by a deep shot from
Adam Enders (Belfast, NY/Belfast) to give Alfred University a one-point lead with 41 seconds to play.
In the closing seconds, Keuka relied on a jump shot to take a 53-52 lead with four seconds remaining in regulation. The Saxons made their way quickly down the court, where Curran was fouled going up for a layup. At the free throw line, Curran hit both shots to give the lead back to Alfred University. The inbound pass from Keuka ended up in the hands of Eldaye to give AU the victory.
Alfred University will next wrap up their weekend against Utica University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
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.
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