Gino Leonardi '16 led the Elmira men with 19.5 points per game at the Salem State Holiday Classic. In the loss to Wesleyan University on December 29th, the Spencer, NY, native netted a game-high 21 points with a team-leading five rebounds. He shot 7-for-14 from the field, including a blistering 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
The fourth-year guard then paced the Purple and Gold with 18 points and eight made field goals in the epic come-from-behind victory over Endicott College, 62-59, on December 30th. Leonardi also tied his previous season high with six boards. He set up what CNN's Coy Wire called "one of the most amazing comebacks in college basketball history" by making a clutch, game-tying trey with less than 10 seconds left on the clock, allowing Justin Henderson '16 to win the game with a three-quarter court buzzer-beater.
On the season, Leonardi leads the Soaring Eagles and is tied for seventh in the Empire 8 Conference in scoring with 16.7 points per game. He also ranks sixth in the conference in three-point field-goal percentage, shooting at a rate of 42.1 percent.
The Elmira College men's basketball team opens Empire 8 play on Monday, January 4th, at 2:00 p.m. against Stevens Institute of Technology at Speidel Gymnasium.
