Ithaca, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team used a 42-point first half to defeat Ithaca College, 75-60, and snap their three-game losing streak. The victory over the Bombers also moved the Soaring Eagles to 1-0 in Empire 8 play, snapping a streak of nine Empire 8 Conference opening game losses.
 
EC had four players record double-digit points, with Hayden Harkins'18 recording his second consecutive 17-point game. Harkins hit 5-of-8 from three-point range, setting a new career-high for three-pointers made in a game, and increasing his three-point shooting percentage to an Empire 8-leading 54.5 percent.
 
Behind Harkins in the scoring column was Justin Henderson '16, who scored 15 points, Neil Randolph '15, who scored 14 points, and Gino Leonardi '16, who scored 10 points. EC's leading scorer, Randolph, missed the previous two games due to an injury, but gutted out the ailment to knock down four three-pointers in 14 minutes off the bench. David Borelli'15 led the Purple and Gold with seven rebounds, also chipping in six points, while Oladapo Badmos '17, who was also battling an injury, helped set-up the Soaring Eagle attack with six assists in addition to his eight points in 17 minutes off the bench.
 
The opening minutes of the first half saw the Bombers take a 6-3 lead, however, a second three-pointer from Harkins evened the score at six to erase Ithaca's largest, and final, lead of the game. Randolph capped-off a 13-3 run with a three-pointer to give EC a 16-9 lead and then hit another three-pointer just minutes later to halt a mini Bomber run and again push Elmira's lead to seven points.
 
The Soaring Eagles maintained their advantage for the remainder of the first half, stretching their lead to 13 points, 38-25, with 2:02 to play in the opening half. A three-pointer from Ithaca's Max Masucci made it an eight-point game with a minute to play, but Randolph hit his third three-pointer of the half at the buzzer to give EC a 42-31 lead.
 
Elmira started the second half on a 17-6 run, breaking open a 22-point lead, at 59-37, with 11:55 to play. They continued to hold a double-digit advantage for the next eight-plus minutes, until Ithaca made it a nine-point game with just over three minutes to play. EC, however, proved to be resilient, knocking down 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to seal the 75-60 victory.
 
The Purple and Gold have a short turnaround as they come back to Elmira for their first home game of the season tomorrow, January 3rd, when they host St. John Fisher College at 4:00 p.m.