Bball Article (need title)
While most Alfred students were enjoying a long anticipated holiday break, the Alfred men’s and women’s basketball teams were back on the grind, arriving in Alfred Dec. 26, with few days to spare before their vigorous conference schedules began. With few conference games under their belts, the two programs geared up to prove themselves in the coming weeks, working hard to burn off any rust they might have picked up over the short holiday stint.
The Alfred men’s basketball team, coming off a conference loss to Stevens in the Empire 8 opener, were compelled to prove worthy contenders and perhaps even better their #4 ranking on the coaches poll this year. In their first game off break, the Saxons faced St. John Fisher. Although they fought hard, the Saxons were not able to pick up a victory, falling 73-40 at the McLane center. This game set off a string of 5 losses snapped by a nail biting road victory on Sunday Jan. 24 in Utica, NY -- recording the first conference victory this year for the Alfred Saxons.
The men's team’s most recent action was a home game against RIT last Thursday. They fell subject to an 18-point deficit out of the gate, cutting the final score to 13 points 58-43. Sophomore guard Griffin Taylor said, “The team seems to be headed in the right direction securing our first conference win against Utica and, although we haven’t been pulling out too many victories as of late, we have faith and feel we are close to turning the corner and stringing some wins together.” The team this upcoming week faces off against Penn State Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday and Ithaca on Friday. Although the team has an up hill battle to climb the rest of the season, fueled by their first conference win and tight knit team morale, it is not too late to turn the season around and regain their position as one the top teams in the Empire 8 programs.
The women's basketball team also was unable to pull out a victory in their conference home opener, losing to visiting Stevens Dec. 5. The team received their first conference win almost two weeks prior to the men’s first conference victory. This crucial win came against the Elmira Bulldogs on Jan. 12 in Elmira. Similar to the men’s team, the women’s squad has not fared too well as of late, winning only two of their last seven games. Their most recent triumph came against RIT last Thursday, pulling out a close one which came down to the game-winning shot by newly recruited junior guard Courtney Lincoln in the closing 20 seconds of the contest. A contributing factor to the recent losses could be the unfortunate occurrence of senior center Autumn McLain falling to a season-ending injury, a torn ACL.
Sophomore guard Christina Jordan, when asked how she felt the team was faring halfway through the season, stated, “Our team has had some ups and downs this year, but our constant support from our coaches and team unity has gotten us through and things look to be getting brighter down the road." The Lady Saxons also face off against Fisher at home. The team is up against tough competition in the coming weeks, but with senior leadership and team spirit they can come out and show the vast improvement and talent that they possess and prove their rightful place as one of the elite programs the Empire 8 division has to offer.
