Elmira, NY -- A late rally by the Elmira College men's basketball team came up short as the visiting Bombers of Ithaca College downed the Soaring Eagles, 83-74. EC, unfortunately, will not see their season extended as tonight's loss eliminated them from Empire 8 playoff contention.
Leading the charge for the Soaring Eagles was
Neil Randolph'15, who scored 18 points in 38 minutes of action. He also pulled down seven rebounds and hit two three pointers, increasing his season total to 63. That moves Randolph into ninth place on Elmira's single-season list for made three-pointers. He also improved his career made three-pointer total to 193, which gives the senior sole possession of third place in Elmira College history for successful three-point attempts.
Randolph was one of four Elmira players in double-figures, the others being
Oladapo Badmos'17,
Gino Leonardi'16, and
David Borelli'15. Badmos had 14 points and four rebounds, Leonardi had a stat-line of 13 points, two rebounds, and two steals, while Borelli had a near double-double, scoring 10 points and pulling down nine rebounds in the loss.
The Purple and Gold had been on fire from three-point range during their three-game winning streak, including back-to-back games with 16 made three-pointers, however, the Bombers kept EC in check from distance, limiting the Soaring Eagles to just 3-of-12 from behind the arc. Three-point shooting and free throw proved to be a difference in tonight's game as Ithaca hit six more three-pointers and nine more free throws than Elmira. The Bombers also shot 42.9 percent from distance, compared to EC's 25.0 percent, and attempted 25 free throws, compared to just 14 for the Soaring Eagles.
It was a closely-contested first half, with neither team leading by more than six points. After a back-and-forth start to the game, which featured four lead changes and two ties, Ithaca used a mini 6-0 run to take a 21-15 lead with 8:18 to play. EC used an 8-2 run of their own to tie the game at 23, but the Bombers regained a six-point lead, 30-24, just over a minute later. Ithaca held onto their lead for the remainder of the half, but a short burst in the final two minutes led to Elmira trailing by just two, 35-33, at the break.
The Soaring Eagles came out strong in the second half and used an 11-5 run take a 44-40 lead with 16:31 on the clock. Ithaca, however, responded with a pair of Sam Bevan three-pointers, which sandwiched one of two Randolph threes, to make it a 47-46 game. The score remained tight for much of the next 10 minutes of gameplay, but the Bombers began to pull away with just over six minutes left to play.
Ithaca used a 7-0 run, which spanned over two minutes of game time, to break open a 10-point lead. Elmira tried to answer on several occasions and cut it to just five, 77-72, with 50 seconds remaining, but the Bombers went 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the final 50 seconds to seal EC's fate.
Elmira has one game remaining on their 2014-15 schedule. They will take on Alfred University tomorrow, February 21st at 4:00 p.m. in Speidel Gymnasium. A win tomorrow over the Saxons will give EC their first .500-or-better conference record in over a decade.
