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Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team (5-11, 1-5 E8) suffered their third close loss in a row, falling to Ithaca College (5-14, 1-8 E8), 69-68. Neil Randolph '15 led the Soaring Eagles with 21 points while Chris Cassidy '14 nearly completed his first double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and nine rebounds.

The Purple and Gold took an early 3-2 lead, but that would be EC's only lead of the game as a quick Bomber basket put Ithaca back in front. The lead would grow to a game-high 14 points with 1:39 left in the opening half. Elmira was able to cut it to a 12-point game at halftime, trailing 34-22 as they went to the locker rooms. The Soaring Eagles shot 29 percent from the field and only eight percent from behind the arc while their opponent hit nearly 47 percent of their field goal attempts in the first 20 minutes.

The second half was much better for the Purple and Gold as the men slowly chipped away at the Ithaca lead. A three-pointer from Randolph with 14:10 to play made it a 40-39 game, the closest the Soaring Eagles had been since the 16:56 mark of the first half. From there the game stayed within a few possessions with Ithaca maintaining the advantage.

Derrick Vogel '14 brought the game to its first tie at 46 all, but EC could not break through to take the lead. With under two minutes to play and trailing by two, Elmira had possession of the ball looking to tie the game or take the lead. Randolph came off a screen and lined up a three-point attempt, drawing a foul in the process. He hit two out of the three free throws to tie the game at 64 with 1:24 to play.

Ithaca's Frank Mitchell, who scored a game-high 25 points, got his layup to fall to put the Bombers back in front, this time for good. Ithaca made three of four free throws down the stretch to seal the 69-68 victory.

The Soaring Eagles will continue their six-game home stand on Friday, January 31st when they host Houghton College at 6:00 p.m.