Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team used a 9-0 run midway through the second half to break a 50-50 tie and pull away for an eventual 75-64 victory over visiting Utica College Friday night. The win snaps EC's two-game losing streak and moves the Soaring Eagles to 2-2 in Empire 8 play.
The Purple and Gold received scoring contributions from eight of the 10 players that saw the floor tonight, but it was their bench that did most of the damage this evening, totaling 54 of the 75 total points. Leading the way, for the third consecutive game, was
Oladapo Badmos '17, who tied for the game-high with 18 points in 31 minutes off the bench. In addition to his 18 points, he handed out six assists – versus zero turnovers – pulled down four rebounds, tallied two steals, and added one block.
Behind Badmos was
Neil Randolph '15, who notched 15 points off the bench. Randolph shot 3-of-8 from the field, but was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. The senior also played a large part on the defensive end of the floor, matching Badmos with two steals and a block. EC's final double-digit performer from the bench was
David Borelli '15. Borelli turned in his best performance of the season, scoring 13 points, on 6-of-6 shooting, and coming up with timely buckets to keep the Purple and Gold in the driver's seat.
The Soaring Eagles trailed for most of the first half as Utica started the game strong on both ends of the floor. Despite Utica's hot shooting in the first half, EC never let the Pioneers get too far ahead, keeping it within five points. Utica led 30-26 with 3:29 remaining in the first half, but Badmos took over for EC, scoring the next seven points to give Elmira a 33-32 lead, their first of the night. Borelli added a layup with a minute left to make it 35-32, and despite allowing the Pioneers to shoot 59 percent from the floor, the Purple and Gold took a three-point lead into the locker rooms.
Utica briefly retook the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, but a three-pointer from rookie center
Ryan Chocek'18 gave EC a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. An and-one conversion by Borelli put Elmira on top 43-38 and another successful and-one by Randolph minutes later extended EC's lead to seven, 50-43, with 12:12 to play. Utica used a 7-0 run over the next three minutes to tie the game at 50, but the Soaring Eagles would prove resilient, going on a 9-0 run to take a 59-50 lead with 6:20 left in regulation. The Pioneers attempted to rally, yet again, but the Purple and Gold had an answer for each of Utica's mini-runs, holding off the Pioneers for the 75-64 victory.
Elmira's defense and free throw shooting in the second half were critical components in their victory. The Soaring Eagles limited the Pioneers to just 36.0 percent shooting, including 28.6 from three-point range, in the final 20 minutes of play. In contrast, EC shot 44.0 percent from the floor and knocked down 15-of-16, 93.8 percent, of their free throws in the second half to pull away for the win.
EC has a short turnaround as they return to action tomorrow afternoon against Houghton College. The game is set to start at 4:00 p.m. in Speidel Gymnasium.
