Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team and Nazareth College needed not one, not two, but three overtime periods to determine a victor this afternoon. Once the dust settled, it was the Golden Flyers who edged the Soaring Eagles, 95-93, at Speidel Gymnasium. Justin Henderson '16 nearly provided the Soaring Eagles with a buzzer-beating victory, but his attempt from the top of the three-point arc with three seconds left on the clock rattled in-and-out.
 
Henderson had 12 points for the Soaring Eagles, all of which came on three-point baskets. He was one of four EC players in double-figures, the other three being Neil Randolph '15, David Borelli '15, and Gino Leonardi '16. Randolph paced the Purple and Gold with 27 points while playing all but three minutes of today's contest. Randolph also hit four three-pointers, went 7-of-8 from the free throw line, and tallied two steals and two blocks in the loss.
 
Borelli had a productive game going until he picked up his fifth foul with 3:39 to go in the second half. He scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season while playing physical defense on Nazareth's Mitch Ford. Leonardi played 39 minutes of today's contest, scoring 14 points and handing out five assists against the Golden Flyers.
 
EC got off to a slow start and trailed Nazareth, 11-0, through the game's first four minutes of play. The Soaring Eagles began to chip away at the deficit and eventually tied the game at 25 with 4:25 remaining in the first half. The Golden Flyers retook the lead, denying Elmira a chance to go on top, and after Randolph hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with nine seconds on the clock, led EC by two, 32-30, at the half.
 
The Golden Flyers maintained their advantage through the first four-plus minutes of the second half, but the Soaring Eagles finally earned their first lead of the game at the 15:23 mark of the second half as a Randolph layup put EC ahead, 40-38. The lead exchanged hands a number of times over the next few minutes, but Nazareth retook the lead with 4:30 to play and began to assert themselves on both ends of the floor.
 
Nazareth's lead was pushed to five points, 67-62, after a tip-slam from Maurice Mills, but EC was not finished yet. A pair of free throws from Brian McDonald '15 made it a three-point game with 1:24 to play, which is where the game stood over a minute later when Henderson provided his heroics.
 
Trailing by three still, Elmira was trying to get a quick two-point basket, but Oladapo Badmos '17 missed his layup and the rebound was loose underneath the basket. Nick Cesare '16 fought his way through the crowd to secure the offensive rebound and kicked it out to Leonardi. Leonardi skipped the ball over to Henderson who fired a high-arcing shot from the right wing. Henderson's three-point attempt hit nothing but net, sending the crowd and his teammates into a frenzy. Nazareth had one final chance, but Mills missed his jumper and the teams would head to the first overtime period.
 
Nazareth scored the first basket of overtime period number one, but successful free throws from Randolph gave EC a one-point lead. Elmira continued to lead in the first overtime and held a three-point advantage with under a minute to play after a three-pointer from Randolph. However, on the very next Nazareth possession, Steven Soltysik hit a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 77. The Purple and Gold held for the final shot of the first overtime, but the ball was knocked loose as time expired, forcing another five minutes of play.
 
EC again found themselves leading by three in the second overtime, doing so on several occasions. McDonald split a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to put Elmira up three, and then after ta quick basket from Dan Morse, Leonardi also split a pair of free throws to make it just a two-point game with 21 seconds left. The two-point advantage was erased by Mitch Ford with nine seconds left, and then on the other end of the floor, Cesare's last-second three-point attempt hit off the back rim, bringing the game to a third overtime.
 
Although neither team showed signs of fatigue, it appeared that over 50 minutes of play was beginning to take its toll on the players. Nazareth held the lead for most of the third overtime, and after a split at the line with 11 seconds left, led EC by two, 95-93. Elmira tried to get the ball down low for a game-tying layup, but it was knocked out of bounds with four seconds remaining. Coach Torgalski used one of his remaining timeouts to settle his players and draw up a potential game-winning play. The play found Henderson open at the top of the key for a three-pointer, but his shot did not drop as EC fell in heartbreaking fashion, 95-93 in triple overtime.
 
Elmira does not compete again until Friday, February 13th, giving them a few days to recover from today's marathon game. EC will host Stevens Tech at 8:00 p.m. Friday night in a must-win Empire 8 contest.