UTICA, NY – Sophomore Jaylen Savage scored 26 points while fellow sophomore Solomon McFarlane added 23 and graduate student Logan Blankenberg poured in 21 to lead the Nazareth University Men's Basketball team to an 86-74 win over Utica University Tuesday night.

Nazareth (13-6 overall, 10-1 Empire 8) have won six consecutive games and nine of the last ten to move into first place in the conference standings. Utica (15-3, 8-1 Empire 8) dropped to second in the standings.

Savage and Solomon each scored 13 points in the first half as Nazareth took a slim 40-37 lead into the halftime break.

In the second half, the Golden Flyers held a nine-point lead three different times midway through the period but took control late in the half as Savage made a driving layup with less than three minutes left to give Nazareth a 10-point lead at 78-68.

After a Utica layup, Nazareth beat the full court pressure and Blankenberg made an inside shot to regain the double-digit lead.

A Blankenberg defensive rebound at the other end of the court eventually led to another Blankenberg basket with a free throw line jumper and a 12-point advantage.  

After a missed jumper, Savage sealed the victory with a pair of free throws.

Savage had a season-high 26 points on 10-of-27 shooting. McFarlane had a career-high 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line.

Blankenberg finished with 21 points with a team-leading nine rebounds and three 3-pointers.

Nazareth returns home for a pair of Empire 8 games this weekend against Alfred Friday and Elmira Saturday at Kidera Gymnasium.