Score: Ithaca College 77, Elmira College 73
Records: Ithaca (9-4, 3-2 E8), Elmira (2-11, 0-4 E8)
Location: Ben Light Gymnasium – Ithaca, NY

Ithaca, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team pushed the hosts from Ithaca College to the brink in Tuesday night's Empire 8 Conference contest, but were unable to complete the comeback in the 77-73 loss.

The Soaring Eagles trailed by eight at halftime and a three-pointer from Carroll Rich extended Ithaca's lead to a game-high 10 points, 42-32, at the 16:52 mark in the second half. EC then began the near comeback with a 10-2 run, cutting the deficit to two points. Nine of those points were scored from beyond the arc, as Justin Porrett '19, Justin Henderson '16 and Hayden Harkins '18 each drained a trey to start the rally.

Down 49-44 midway through the half, Henderson scored another three-ball, and following layup from Ithaca's Marc Chasin, Gino Leonardi '16 joined the air assault with a triple to bring the Purple and Gold within one point, 51-50, with about nine minutes remaining in regulation. Just over a minute later, Henderson knotted the game at 54-54 with his third three-point bucket of the half. Leonardi kept the game tied at 56 with a layup, and Connor Bays '18 scored a pair of free throws to draw it even at 58-all.

The Bombers then pulled ahead by seven with a 10-3 run, capped off by a Peter Ezema dunk. Ezema stole the ball from Henderson at the top of the key and raced the length of the court for the slam, giving Ithaca a 68-61 advantage with 1:14 to go.

Still trailing by seven, 72-65, with the clock winding under 30 seconds, Harkins restored life in the Elmira men with another three-pointer. The Soaring Eagles then regained possession after the Bombers were tagged with a five-second violation on the following inbounds play. Leonardi's ensuing layup brought EC back within two, 72-70, with 22 seconds left on the clock.

Following a pair of free throws from Bomber guard Sam Bevan, Leonardi used an old-fashion three-point play to cut the deficit to one. Ithaca's Jake Mitchell made his two free throws on the other end after being fouled, putting EC down by three with eight seconds remaining.

The bid for a miraculous comeback ended, however, when Leonardi fumbled the ball on the right wing while attempting to set up an overtime-forcing three-pointer. Mitchell stole the ball and was fouled by Harkins with one second to go, and he made the first of his two shots from the charity stripe to seal the win.

Turning Point
The Soaring Eagles used a momentous rally to turn a 10-point deficit into a 54-54 deadlock with just over eight minutes left in the second half. After tying the score at both 56- and 58-all, the Soaring Eagles watched the Bombers go on a 10-3 run to pull ahead by seven points at 68-61, including a breakaway dunk by Ezema following one of many EC turnovers on the night. Although Elmira fought its way back into the contest and was one possession away from tying the game inside the last 10 seconds, the lead proved to be too much for the Soaring Eagles to overcome.

Inside the Box

• Elmira shot 36.7 percent (11-for-30) from the field in the first half and 44.4 percent (12-for-27) in the second.
• Ithaca finished the first half shooting 47.1 percent (16-for-34), but its field-goal percentage dipped to 38.5 percent (10-for-26) in the second half.
• EC outshot Ithaca from beyond the arc, finishing 10-for-31 (31.3 percent) compared to 5-for-18 (27.8 percent).
• The Soaring Eagles held a 42-to-32 advantage in rebounds.
• The Bombers recorded 12 steals, as Elmira turned the ball over 19 times, resulting in 20 points off turnovers for Ithaca.
• Leonardi scored a game-high 20 points, shooting 7-for-14 from the field.
• John Mullane '16 and Henderson also scored double-digit points for EC with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
• Porrett dished out a team-high four assists and Henry Cuffee '19 hauled in a team-high nine rebounds.
• Four Bombers scored double figures, led by Rich with 17 points and Ezema with 14.
• Ezema also had five steals and led Ithaca with eight rebounds.

News and Notes

• Elmira rebounded from its worst three-point shooting performance of the season last time out against Nazareth College and finished with 10-plus treys for the sixth time this season.
• The plus-10 advantage on the boards marks the first time EC out-rebounded its opponent since the win over Endicott College on December 30th.
• The 42 rebounds were two shy of Elmira's season high.
• EC's 19 turnovers are the third-most the Purple and Gold have coughed up in a game this season, while Ithaca's 12 steals are the most forced by an opponent this season.
• The loss snapped Elmira's two-game win streak over the Bombers inside Ben Light Gymnasium.
• Leonardi scored 20-plus points for the fourth time in his senior campaign.
• Mullane's 14 points and Cuffee's nine rebounds are career highs for both forwards.

Up Next
The Elmira College men's basketball team will continue its current four-game road trip with a stop at the Clark Athletic Center to take on the Utica College Pioneers on Friday, January 15th at 6:00 p.m.