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The Alfred University men’s basketball team defeated visiting St. John Fisher, 51-50, Tuesday evening at the McLane Center.

AU (5-10, 3-2 Empire 8) scored the game’s first nine points and went into halftime with a 28-19 advantage. The visiting Cardinals chipped away, eventually taking their first lead of the game, 42-41, on a three-pointer by Chris Baltz with just under nine minutes remaining. The teams traded leads over the next five minutes and were tied at 47-47 with 3:52 remaining before a layup by senior center Dillon Stein gave the Saxons a 49-47 advantage with 3:53 remaining.

After a Justin Beigel free throw drew the Cardinals to within a point, Baltz made a layup with 1:19 left to put Fisher on top, 50-49. Stein scored the game’s final points on a layup with 47 seconds left. A three-point try by the Cardinals’ Matt Newman with five seconds left was off the mark and Stein corralled the rebound, giving Alfred its first victory over the Cardinals in 10 games dating back to the 2001-02 season. AU shot 43 percent from the floor and held the visitors to 35 percent shooting. Fisher struggled at the line, making only seven of 14 free throws, while AU made 71 percent from the charity stripe.

Senior point guard Robby McCarter scored 13 points to lead the Saxons. McCarter, the Empire 8 Conference’s leading free-throw shooter at just under 90 percent, offset 2-for-10 shooting from the field by making eight of 10 from the line. Stein finished with seven points and seven rebounds and freshman forward Pat Smithgall (Perry, NY/Perry) had six points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Senior forward Ryan Clemenson scored eight points and junior forward Jaime Waite and sophomore guard Carl Embury each tallied six.

Baltz led St. John Fisher (12-4, 3-2 Empire 8) with a game-high 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting. Dan McSweeney added 14 points and six rebounds, while Isaiah Smalt finished with a team-leading eight boards.

Alfred plays next on Friday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. at home against Ithaca. The Saxons are now tied for second place in the Empire 8 standings with Ithaca, Fisher and RIT. The Cardinals play next on Friday at 8 p.m. at home against Elmira.