ALBANY, N.Y. - Nazareth was served it's first conference loss in a Saturday evening game against Russell Sage 71-69. Jaylen Savage had 32 points, while Tyler Putney had 18 to combine for 50 of the Golden Flyers' 69 points.

The first five minutes of the game were even for the two teams, each scoring seven. But, in the next minute and a half, the Gators went on a 7-0 run. Sage then continued to slowly extend its lead until the 2:15 minute mark, when the Gators were up 33-20. In the last 2 minutes and 15 seconds, Nazareth was able to cut the lead to under double-digits, heading into halftime down 33-26.

Scoring in the first half for the Golden Flyers was Putney with 11, Savage with nine, Ryan Broderick with three, and Jack Broderick with two.

Under four minutes into the second half, Nazareth cut the Gators' lead to two. With 11:18 left to play, the Golden Flyers took their first lead of the game, going up 47-45. The two teams then traded buckets, neither team holding a lead over two possessions until there was five minutes and 30 seconds left in the game, when Sage went up 60-53.

In each of Nazareth's next four possessions, Savage was able to score to help the Golden Flyers cut the lead to 2 with four minutes left of game time. After Sage made two free throws, Solomon McFarlane hit a three to cut the lead to one with 3:29 left to play.

With one minute left, the Gators were up by three. 40 seconds to play, Liam Hopwood made an and-one layup for a chance to tie the game, but missed the free throw. Down one with three seconds left, Savage left a jumper just short. The Golden Flyers fouled on the rebound, looking to get the ball back with just over one second left to play. Sage made one free throw to go up by two. Putney launched a shot from just a touch past the half-court line at the buzzer, and the ball lipped around the rim once before it rolled out, sealing the win for the Gators.

Savage finished the game with 32 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Putney had 18 points and four rebounds. Hopwood finished the game with nine rebounds and six points. Merritt Holly had four points and also tallied four boards. R. Broderick and McFarlane each added three points, while McFarlane also added five rebounds. J Broderick finished with two points and two rebounds, while teammate Luke Insley had six assists as well as one point.

The Golden Flyers will be back on the court on January 24th at 7:30 p.m. hosting Elmira at Kidera Gymnasium.