Alfred, NY- The Alfred State men's basketball team defended their home court as they notched an 82-74 victory against the Fighting Tigers. The Pioneers move to 1-2 on the season.
Mykell Lawson led the way for Alfred as he filled up the stat sheet with 25 points, five assists, five rebounds, and three steals on 3-7 shooting from downtown.
Elijah Kioko registered his career high with the Pioneers totaling 20 points while shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field.
Ben Sneddon crashed the boards with 12 rebounds while
JJ Howard anchored the defense with three blocks.
Kicking off the action, Alfred struck first with a close-range jumper by Taft. After Cobleskill answered, Lawson knocked down a triple to bring forth a 5-4 game. After some time, Kioko scored a lay-in to regain the lead for the Pioneers, 9-8.
Alfred later began trailing throughout the half. After seeing a deficit of 27-19, Lawson scored a transition layup to shorten the gap. By way of some chances at the charity strip, the Pioneers slowly began to catch up to the Fighting Tigers. Lawson closed off the first half of play strong as he knocked down a fast break triple to cut the deficit to within just three, 32-29.
Alfred's momentum continued into the second half as they scored first after the break. Kioko converted off a second chance opportunity, 32-31. Avery Cunnigham followed with two shots at the free throw line to tie it all up. From there, both sides continued trading baskets with Alfred repeatedly tying up the board. At 11:23, the Pioneers were able to gain the advantage for the first time since the opening minutes off a shot from downtown by Kioko, 48-47.
Both sides continued battling for the advantage as Alfred stayed close off some efforts from Taft and Kioko. After a tip in from Sneddon, Lawson followed with a triple to give the Pioneers a 64-62 advantage. Despite the efforts from the Fighting Tigers to close the gap, Alfred began to slowly pull away as they won the game 82-74.
The Pioneers will face off against Houghton University next. Tipoff is set for Thursday, November 13 at 7pm.
