Buffalo, NY - The D'Youville men's basketball team lost their second to last home game of the season on Wednesday evening, falling to the Alfred State Pioneers 74-67.

D'Youville started red-hot from the field, grabbing an 8-2 lead through the first 3:53 with both Simeon Heard (Rochester, NY/Charles Finney) and Will Saunders (Cleveland, OH/Euclid) scoring four points each. Alfred State would then go on a run to tie the game at 8-8 with the Spartans going cold from the field for nearly six minutes. 

The back-and-forth between the teams would ensue as the Pioneers took a five-point lead at 19-14 with 7:09 to go in the first half. Devon Darrell (Lockport, NY/Lockport) would trim that deficit to four with a made free throw, then making it a two-point game minutes later with two addition free throws. Down by five, Darrius Hartzog (Rochester, NY/Wilson Magnet) would drill a big three with 0:03 to go in the half to send the Spartans into halftime trailing 25-27.

Alfred State would come out playing well on both ends of court, scoring the first eight points of the half to lead 35-25 through the first 2:40. The Spartans would slowly chip away at their deficit, trailing by five minutes later on a Noah Denz (East Aurora, NY/East Aurora) made layup. With 10:55 to go in the game, the Pioneers would continue to put the pressure on D'Youville as they again built their lead to 10 at 49-39.

As the half went on, the two teams would continue trade baskets with the Spartans making every attempt to get back in the game. Two Heard free throws made it a three-point game with under 10 to play, but just a few minutes later the Pioneers would rebuild their lead and extend it to their largest of the game at 15. 

In the final two minutes of play, D'Youville stepped up their game at both ends. A Hartzog layup made it a seven-point game with 1:43 to go in regulation. He then would go on to drill a three and put in an easy layup after a fantastic Heard defensive play with the men trailing 65-69 with 0:37 to go in the game. However, Alfred State would hold onto their lead and take the game 74-67.

Heard had a strong night for the men, scoring 18 points with six rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Hartzog added 16 point while Wanya Bruce (Rochester, NY/Fairport) added eight points and three rebounds. Denz and Saunders led the team with seven rebounds each. Trey Boling (Tonawanda, NY/St. Joe's) added a point with Ryan Davis (Darien Center, NY/Alexander) and Latrell Butler (Olean, NY/Olean) each scoring two.

Brian Sharp (Newark, NY/Newark) scored five, along with Darrell. Torree Cheatham (Lockport, NY/Lockport), Jake Funderburk (Amherst, NY/Amherst), and Jagdeep Drumgoole (Rochester, NY/Early College) all saw playing time against the Pioneers.

The next game for the men will come this Saturday as they travel to Franciscan to play the Barons at 2:00pm.