PITTSBURGH, Pa. – La Roche men's basketball made a second half push in hopes of erasing what was a double-digit deficit against Alfred State, but in the end, the Pioneers handed the Redhawks their second consecutive loss to open AMCC play for the first time since 2005-06, by a final score of 84-68.

The opening 10 minutes belonged to Alfred State, who charged ahead 14-2 in the first 4:59 of play, before pushing the lead to 26-10 with 10:51 remaining.

La Roche settled in offensively the remaining 10 minutes of the half, outscoring the Pioneers 28-15 the rest of the way to take a 41-38 deficit into the break.

Out of the break, Alfred State continued to hold the edge, but by the 14:35 mark, the Redhawks trailed by just two, 54-52.

Another Pioneer run opened the lead back to 10, a 9-1 run, made the score 63-53 with 11:59 remaining.

Again, La Roche stormed back, using its full court pressure to swing an 11-2 run of its own to cut the deficit to just 65-64 with 7:12 remaining.

However, Alfred State would lock up the Redhawks the rest of the way, outscoring La Roche 19-4 over the final 6:38, holding it to just 1-for-12 shooting, to close out the victory, thwarting the comeback attempt.

For the game, La Roche finished the night going 26-for-67 (38.8%) from the floor and 9-for-33 (27.3%) from three. From the foul line, the Redhawks capitalized on just seven of 13 attempts (53.8%).

On the other side, Alfred State finished 30-for-53 (56.6%) from the field, and 10-for-20 (50%) from deep, while going 14-for-22 (63.6%) from the foul line.

La Roche had three players in double figures, with Michael Brooks leading the way with 14 points and falling just a rebound shy of a double-double with nine. He also added four assists.

Frank Stumpo chipped in 13 off the bench to follow, while Isaiah Thomas scored 10 with seven rebounds.

The Redhawks stick to their home floor when they return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 6 for a matchup against Penn State Behrend. Opening tip is set for 7 p.m.