Alfred, NY – Sage's men's basketball team travelled to Alfred University for an Empire 8 contest with the league's defending champions. Alfred posted the 87-68 victory to improve to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in the league, while the loss puts Sage at 9-8 overall and 2-4 in the conference.

Alfred led 45-35 at the half and the Gators were not able to cut the lead by the Saxons and fell on the road on Friday evening despite holding a 31-28 edge on the boards.

Sage was led by sophomore guard Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow) with his team high of 21 while adding five rebounds and two assists. Sophomore center Stuart Phair (Canberra, Australia/Tyler Christian School) added 13 points with four rebounds before fouling out of the contest. He shot 5-6 from the floor and added a blocked shot in the contest.

Sophomore forward Charles Davis (Bronx, NY/Fannie Lou Hamer) collected eight points with four rebounds, a block and a steal.

Alfred got 23 points from Sam Dagon, who was 9-13 from the floor with three rebounds. Forward Brewster Marshall added 18 points with four assists, six rebounds and two steals to aid in the Saxons' win. Alfred shot an impressive 56.6% from the floor for the game (30-53), while both teams struggled from beyond the arch on Friday night. Sage, which shot only 37.9% in the first half (11-29) rebounded to shoot 41.9% in the second half of the game.

Sage is on the road with a game on January 25 at Houghton at 2 p.m. in Empire 8 contest.