Elmira College (1-5) at SUNY Cortland (5-1)
Wednesday, December 9, 2015 | 7:30 P.M. | Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium – Cortland, NY
Live Coverage | Game Notes
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team will look to get back in the win column when it hits the road to face SUNY Cortland in the second game of a doubleheader with the Elmira women on Wednesday evening. Opening tip with the Red Dragons is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
Last Time Out
Elmira enters tonight's contest having dropped its last contest, an 81-74 decision at home against St. Lawrence University. The Saints led by double-digits at halftime and by as many as 18 points in the second half, but a 15-to-6 Elmira run late in the half made it a four-point game with just 40 seconds to play. St. Lawrence held the Soaring Eagles scoreless in the closing seconds of the game to seal its seven-point win. Justin Porrett '19 led all scorers with a career-high 20 points.
 
Porrett's Strong Play Continues
Justin Porrett '19 has been performing at a high level during his rookie campaign with the Soaring Eagles. He produced a 20-point performance in Elmira's last contest against St. Lawrence, which tied his career-best. The Dumont, NJ, native also pulled down six rebounds and dished out five assists, both numbers tying for the team high.
 
Career Night for Abate
Anthony Abate '19 pieced together one of the best performances of his young collegiate career in EC's most recent game. Abate scored a career-high 12 points against St. Lawrence, his first double-digit point total of the season. He also knocked-down a career-best four free throws and logged two steals, which was also a career high.
 
Enhanced Role for Cesare
Fourth-year forward Nick Cesare '16 made his first start of the 2015-16 season against St. Lawrence last Friday night. Cesare played a season-high 25 minutes and produced season highs of eight points and six rebounds.
 
Top-10 Shooter
Elmira's Hayden Harkins '18 has been one of the team's most consistent three point shooters this season. The Tampa, FL, native is averaging 4.0 three-point buckets per contest, which is the 10th-highest per game average in all of NCAA Division III men's basketball. Additionally, his 24 total makes from three-point range ranks 18th in the country.
 
Foul Trouble
The Soaring Eagles have had a tough time this year on the defensive side of the ball and adding to their dilemma, Elmira has also been committing a significant amount of fouls. Elmira has sent its opponents to the charity stripe 153 times through the team's first six games for an average of 25.5 free throw attempts per contest. On the flip side, EC has only gotten to the line 81 times for a per game average of 13.5. As a result, opposing teams are averaging 10.0 more points per game from the foul line than Elmira; the Soaring Eagles have dropped three games this season by 10 points or less.
 
All-Time Series
Elmira and SUNY Cortland have faced each other 34 times throughout the years. The Red Dragons have enjoyed the majority of success in those meetings, winning 19 of those meetings. Recent history has also favored Cortland, as the Red Dragons have won 12 of the last 14 matchups.
 
Scouting Cortland
Cortland is off to a 5-1 start to the 2015-16 campaign and enter Wednesday night's contest on a two-game win streak against conference opponents. The Red Dragons opened SUNYAC play with an 84-83 overtime win against Buffalo State and followed that up with a dominant 24-point victory over Fredonia State. Wednesday night's game will be just the second home game of the year for the Red Dragons, who are 16-9 over the last two years when playing on their home floor at Whitney T. Corey Gymnasium. Dating back to the 2011-12 season, Cortland is 10-2 at home against non-conference opponents. Senior guard Blair Estarfaa is Cortland's leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game. Zach Lydon is not far behind with a solid 10.0 scoring average. Justin Cooper leads the squad in rebounding with 5.2 boards per contest, while Shayne Martinez has been a force defensively with a team-leading 12 steals.
 
Looking Ahead
The Elmira men return to action over Winter Break when they travel to take part in the Salem State Holiday Classic on Tuesday, December 29^th, and Wednesday, December 30^th. The Soaring Eagles will open the two-day event with a 6:00 p.m. tip against Wesleyan, while they will face Endicott at 5:00 p.m. the following day.