ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College men's basketball squad used a strong second half as they hosted Alfred University on Saturday afternoon, but it was not enough as the visiting Saxons recorded a 67-58 win. RSC stands at 11-11 overall and 5-8 in the league, while Alfred improves to 15-8 overall and 8-6 in the Empire 8.
Prior to the game, the Gators honored their eight seniors in conjunction with Senior Day.
Senior guard Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow) finished with a game-best 20 points, while senior guard Amani Cummings (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech) added 16 points.
Alfred led 38-25 at the half as the Gators were limited to 39.3% shooting from the floor. A strong second half saw the Gators pull within one point, down, 50-49 with 10:39 left but were never able to tie the contest as AU had a balanced attach and hit 13-of-18 from the line.
Senior forward/center Stuart Phair (Canberra, Australia/Tyler Christian School) led the Gators on the boards with his 9 rebounds and added seven points with three blocked shots and two steals.
The Saxons got 16 points from junior guard Mike Schmidt, while senior forward Brewster Marshall had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Graduate player, Cole Eells also collected 14 points with two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Looking ahead, RSC visits Hartwick College on February 15 in a 5:30 p.m. Empire 8 road contest.
Senior Day: Before the E8 contest, the athletic department recognized seven players: senior guard Amani Cummings (Brooklyn, NY/Transit Tech), senior guard Ryan Long (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park), senior guard Tyler Mitchell (Bronx, NY/All Hallows), senior guard Jalon Borders (Bartow, FL/Bartow), senior forward Jason Geronimo (Orlando, FL/Colonial), senior forward/center Stuart Phair (Canberra, Australia/Tyler Christian School), senior forward/center Fethener Aime (Palm Coast, FL/Flagler Palm Coast), and forward/center Josh Gonzalez (Albany, NY/Canajoharie), a grad student, for their contributions to the men's basketball program.
Notes: Borders became just the fourth Gator to score his 1,000th career point on Feb. 6 at St. John Fisher…The two-time first-team All-Conference pick sits third in program records with 1,046 career points…Phair, who currently ranks second in program records for career blocks with 103, and Geronimo are captains on the year's team…The pair both rank in the top eight on the program's career rebounding chart.
