ROCHESTER, NY – The Nazareth men's basketball team shot nearly 54 percent from the field (35-for-65) on Friday night to open up Empire 8 conference play with an 85-65 victory over Elmira at Kidera Gymnasium. For the second-consecutive game, freshman Jaylen Savage was the leading scorer with 21 points on 8-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-4 form 3-point range. He also chipped in a career-high seven assists and six rebounds.
 
The Golden Flyers improve to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in league play, while Elmira falls to 1-6 and 0-1, respectively.

Nazareth held a 16-12 lead at the 12:27 mark of the opening half. The Golden Flyers were able to open up their lead with a 17-3 run over the next eight minutes to make it 33-15. Savage had 12 of his 21 points in the half on 5-for-8 from the floor.
 
The Golden Flyers extended their lead to double figures at the 11:10 mark of the half on a pair of free throws from Luke Insley. The lead remained double-digits the rest of the game.
 
One of the highlights of the half came on an inbound play underneath the basket as Zach Stenglein connected on an alley-oop to Jonathan Park down the lane.  Park finished with eight points, eight rebounds, and four blocks.
 
The Golden Flyers were rock-solid in the second half, shooting nearly 68 percent from the floor (19-for-28), including 5-for-6 from 3-point territory.
 
Elmira came no closer than 15 points in the half, which came at the 6:44 mark at 68-53.
 
Logan Blankenberg was one-point of his career-high, as he chipped in 18 points on 8-for-12 from the floor, while also collecting three steals. Jack Broderick had a strong game as well with 15 points (7-for-9) and five boards.
 
The Golden Flyers return will be back in action on Saturday, hosting Alfred University at 4 p.m. The Saxons defeated St. John Fisher 66-64 on Friday.