Utica, NY – The Utica College men's basketball team was on the road Friday night for an Empire 8 clash with Alfred University. The Pioneers fell to the Saxons, 74-64, as they continue to look for their first conference win this season.
 
Alfred won the first half of the game, holding a 38-28 lead going into the locker rooms at halftime. The Saxons got out to an early lead in the first five minutes of the game and would not surrender it for the remainder of the night. The Pioneers battled and cut the lead to single digits several times, but could not break through to mount a comeback.
 
UC rolled out a new starting lineup for tonight's contest, granting Justin Mayers (Hastings, NY/Hastings on the Hudson), Ryan Johannes (Southbury, CT/Catholic University), and Chris Green (White Plains, NY/Alexander Hamilton) their first starts of the year. Mayers stepped into his role confidently recording a career-high 16 points (6-for-7 FG, 2-for-2 3pt) and seven rebounds to lead the team. Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) and De'andrae McFarlane (Elizabeth, NJ/Union) were the other two players in double-digits, as they combined for 22 points in the loss.
 
Dom LeMorta led Alfred with 18 points, shooting 7-for-15 from the floor, while teammate Elliot Bowen poured in 16 of his own. Sam Dagon came off the bench to provide some scoring, tallying 10 points in the contest. The Saxons improve to 9-2 overall and remain undefeated at 2-0 in E8 play.
 
The Pioneers have lost four straight as they stand at 6-6 overall and 0-3 within the Empire 8. The team will have a chance to bounce back on Saturday, as it hits the road to face Houghton College at 4 p.m.