RSC Uses Balanced Attack to Move to 13-2 for the First Time
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Men’s Basketball ran its winning streak to four with Saturday's home 83-64 Empire 8 Conference victory vs. Alfred.
ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Men's Basketball ran its winning streak to four with Saturday's home 83-64 Empire 8 Conference victory vs. Alfred.
The Gators, 13-2 for the first time in program history, shot 48.4 percent from the field and had six players score in double figures in the home triumph.
Senior Brandon Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton/Herkimer CC) paced the top scoring offense in the Conference with 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. The guard added three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Junior center Khalel Noteman (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie) contributed 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting and six rebounds, while junior guard Adam Myers (Troy, NY/LaSalle Institute/Saint Rose) tallied 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, nine assists and three steals.
Sophomore guard Kyle Dhu (Ozone Park, NY/Brooklyn Law and Tech) and freshman guard Mikey Steward (Daytona Beach, FL/New Smyrna Beach) chipped in 11 points apiece, while senior forward Ben Aprilante (Fort Montgomery, NY/James I. O'Neil/SUNY Adirondack) rounded out the RSC double-digit scorers with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and seven rebounds. The output was a career-high for the rookie.
"I was really happy with how we shared the ball this weekend," commented head coach Brian Barnes. "We shot a high percentage from the field both games and had six guys in double figures today. Adam Myers has really stepped up the last two games and was terrific today with nine assists and zero turnovers. I felt our pressure wore them down over the course of forty minutes and our turnover margin gave us some extra possessions. Alfred is a program we have tremendous respect for. Coach Kaempffe does a great job with his guys and we knew this would be a difficult game. We're looking forward to a great week of practice and continuing to improve."
RSC, up 34-29 at the break, used a 17-5 run spanning 4:23 midway through the second half to pull away. The Gators were ahead by as many as 24 during the matinee.
Senior guard Robby Hicks led Alfred (3-12/0-6 E8), now on a six-game slide, with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
RSC (13-2/5-1 E8) continues a five-game homestand on Friday vs. Nazareth.
Gator Bites: The 2025-2026 season marks the 17th for Head Coach Brian Barnes at the helm of Russell Sage College Men's Basketball…He achieved career win number 200 on November 15 at SUNY Cobleskill...RSC has gotten off to its best five-game (5-0),ten-game (9-1) and 15-game (13-2) starts to a season in program history…The first loss was to top-ranked Trinity in late November…The 2014-2015 edition of the Gators started their season at 6-1 and 7-3 on their way to a 23-5 overall record and capturing the Skyline Conference Tournament Championship, and accompanying NCAA Tournament berth...RSC started that historic season, and also began last year, with a 12-3 record...The Gators are coming off a trip to the Quarterfinals of the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament…Seven players back from last year's squad…Junior guard Deavion Springsteen (Albany, NY/Albany), Harris, and Noteman headline the returners…Harris, voted third-team All-Conference, topped the Gators with 12.9 points per-game last season…The senior converted the game-winning layup with two seconds left in the January 6 overtime victory at Utica…Barnes added seven newcomers to the program…Dhu was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 16…He averaged 25.5 points on 60.7 percent shooting in the 2-0 week…The sophomore made 61.5 percent of his three-point attempts and totaled 11 rebounds, five steals and four assists across the pair of victories...Harris, who closed the day sixth in the E8 in scoring at 16.9 points per-game, tops the Conference with 2.9 steals per-game...Junior guard Pape Tunkara (Mount Vernon, NY/Iona Prep/Genesee CC) sits second on the circuit with 2.6 steals per-game...RSC is averaging an E8-leading 85.7 points per-game...Noteman averaged 17.0 points on 65.5 percent shooting and 7.7 rebounds in the 3-0 week...Steward, who had a career-high this afternoon, averaged 7.0 points on 55.6 percent shooting this week.