Morrisville State men fall in overtime in season opener to Alfred

The Morrisville State College men's basketball team battled back from a 13 point deficit late in the second half to force the overtime period, but fell short as host Alfred University claimed a 72-67 non-conference victory.



Morrisville State led 28-23 at the half before Alfred put together a second half rally, building up a 13 point lead with just over six minutes to go in the game, but the Mustangs posted nine straight points over the final 1:47, including a three pointer from Mickey Davis (Jamesville, NY) with 29 seconds to go, to send the game into the overtime frame.



In the extra period, Morrisville State built up a five point lead with 3:32 to go, but again the Saxons battled back to claim the lead following a three-point play by Josh Parker and layup from Pat Hollenbeck with less than a minute remaining. Parker sealed the victory for Alfred with two free throws in the closing seconds of the contest.



Kucjok Ater (Syracuse, NY) led the Mustangs with 17 points, adding five boards and three steals, as Brandon Hanks (Syracuse, NY) netted 15 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out five assists. Davis contributed 14 points and six rebounds.



Five posted double figures for the Saxons, including Parker with 14 and Hollenbeck with 10. Derek Lewis led Alfred's attack with 16 points and 11 rebounds, as Sean Curran added 13 points and eight boards, and Mike Branche 13 points.



The Mustangs shot 38.2 percent from the floor in the contest, hitting 75 percent from the charity stripe.



Morrisville State (0-1) returns to the court Friday, playing Nazareth College at 8 p.m. at the Medaille College Tournament.