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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The visiting Saxons connected on six free throws in the final minute to defeat the Golden Flyers 80-76 in a men's Empire 8 Conference basketball game on Friday evening. Junior Scott Hayford amassed a game-high and career-high 24 points for the Golden Flyers.

With the loss, Nazareth falls to 11-8 overall and 4-5 in Empire 8 contests. With the victory, Alfred improves to 5-13 overall and 2-8 in conference games. The Golden Flyers currently stand in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings. Utica also stands at 4-5 after its loss to St. John Fisher. The top four teams qualify for the Empire 8 Tournament, held February 22-23.

The Golden Flyers had three seven-point leads in the first four minutes of the second half. Freshman Mitch Ford scored five of Nazareth's first points in the period while Hayford added a three-point basket. Sean Curran and Dalton Walsh countered with baskets to keep the Saxons' deficit in single-digits.

After Ford's layup gave Nazareth a 47-40 lead with just over 16 minutes to play in regulation, Alfred's defense held the Golden Flyers' offensive attack without a field goal until Freshman Maurice Mills connected on a jumper over four minutes later.

Alfred used a 10-2 scoring run to claim a 50-49 lead with 12:37 remaining in regulation. The next 10 minutes featured eight lead changes as the teams traded baskets. Sophomore Vinny Amuso converted two free throw opportunities to put Nazareth ahead, 65-64, however, Alfred's Thomas Tsatsis answered with a three-point basket on the Saxons' ensuing possession to take the lead for good. Tsatsis connected with his shot with 2:39 to play in regulation.

Hayford made four of his three-pointers in the first half to stake the Golden Flyers a 39-35 lead at the break. Junior Jack Giles hit three shots beyond the arc for nine first-half points. Nazareth finished 8-16 (50 percent) on three-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes. Giles provided the Golden Flyers with a game-high nine-point lead, 29-20, following a three-point basket. Alfred answered with a 9-0 run to stay in the game.

The Saxons entered the game shooting 42 percent from the season and they finished at 55 percent (29-53) in Friday's game as they shot better than 50 percent in each half. Curran tallied a team-high 19 points, followed by Tim Costello with 16 points and Tsatsis with 12 points. Alfred connected on six of nine three-point baskets in each half to match Nazareth. The Saxons were a torrid 12-18 (67 percent) from beyond the arc.

In addition to the points from Hayford, who finished 7-13 (54 percent) from the field, Giles finished with 13 points while Mitch Ford and senior Tyshun Stephens had 12 points apiece. Junior Brad Ford, entering the game as Nazareth's leading scorer averaging 18.1 points per game, was held to two points on 1-7 shooting from the floor. Stephens finished with a game-high eight assists to set up many of Nazareth's scoring opportunities.

Brad Ford finished with a game-high 13 rebounds to lead Nazareth to a 41-27 advantage on the glass. The Golden Flyers tallied 15 offensive boards. Nazareth's rebounding advantage was largely in the first half when the Golden Flyers finished with a 23-12 advantage.

Nazareth is in action again at Houghton on January 29th. With Houghton as a provisional member of the Empire 8 Conference, the contests are recorded as non-conference games.