Albany, N.Y. – The Nazareth men's basketball team dropped a conference match up against the Russell Sage Gators on Friday night. They led for much of the second half, but ultimately fell by a score of 85-78. Nazareth's record now sits at 11-5, while Russell Sage jumps to 14-2.

How It Happened

• The Golden Flyers jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Gators answered with 9 unanswered of their own

• Russell Sage established a 7 point lead early and maintained it all the way through the opening 20 minutes, with Nazareth trailing by a game-high 11 points heading into halftime

• Nazareth found their rhythm early in the second half, kicking it off with a 6-1 run to begin closing the gap

• The Golden Flyers continued their push and outscored the Gators 12-4 over a 3:30 stretch

• Merritt Holly turned the tides with a game-tying shot with about a quarter of the game remaining. The score was knotted for the first time at 54-54

• Nazareth subsequently took the lead and carried it down to the 2 minute mark, where Russell Sage tied the game with a dunk

• The Gators would continue their run and never look back, taking their final lead all the way to the final whistle to win the game 85-78

Game Notes

• Jaylen Savage led Nazareth offensively, scoring 23 points and adding 8 rebounds

• Luke Insley scored 15 points on 7/11 shooting, and recorded 6 assists

• Merritt Holly dominated the glass with a season-high 17 rebounds, and he added 14 points

• Solomon McFarlane was impressive on the defensive end, grabbing 4 steals to go along with his 5 points

What's Next

Men's basketball will waste no time getting back to action, as they travel to Oneonta, NY on Saturday, January 24th to take on the Hartwick Hawks at 4pm.