Canton, NY – The SUNY Canton men's basketball team held an 18-point advantage in points in the paint but visiting Alfred University used hot shooting from the outside to earn an 89-85 victory in the Roos House on Saturday afternoon.

The Roos used a pair of 5-0 runs early to take a 16-10 lead six minutes into the contest. The Saxons responded with an 8-0 spurt to turn a three-point deficit into a five-point lead at 32-27 with just over six minutes left in the first half. Canton closed the half on a 12-5 run to take a 41-39 lead into intermission.

Adrian Williams and Joseph Werner paced the Roos with 14 and 13 points, respectively in the opening half, while Scotty Stopera and Sage Brown finished with 10 and 9 for the Saxons.

Alfred used a 15-2 run out of intermission to take a 60-50 lead but the Roos bounced back with an 8-0 run including a three-pointer from Ibu Smith, an old-fashioned three-point play from Danny Santana and pair of free throws from Brandon Adkisson to get within two.

The game remained close the rest of the way as the Saxons were able to survive for a four-point win.

Williams led all players with 21 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Andrew Fitch and Werner both had big outings finishing with 18 and 17 points, respectively, while both hauling down nine rebounds apiece. The duo combined to shoot a sizzling 15-for-20 from the field. Jordan Stewart also chipped in 12 points for Canton.

Sage Brown and Nick Schmidt posted 20 points apiece while Brown hauled down a game-high 16 rebounds. Dom LaMorta added 17 points and Scotty Stopera recorded 13 points and a game-best nine assists. Schmidt and LaMorta combined to hit 11 of Alfred's 15 three-pointers.

The men's basketball team is off for finals week but returns to the court next Saturday when it visits Morrisville State at 3 p.m.