Score: Hartwick College 81, Elmira College 70
Records: Hartwick (10-4, 5-0 E8), Elmira (2-13, 0-6 E8)
Location: Lambros Arena - Oneonta, NY

Oneonta, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball blew a 10-point halftime lead in its 81-70 road loss to the Hartwick College Hawks in Empire 8 Conference action on Saturday afternoon.

The Soaring Eagles started the game hot from downtown and used the three-point shot to build a 40-30 lead at the break. EC scored 30 of the 40 first-half points on three-pointers, as the Purple and Gold were 10-for-19 from beyond the arc in the game's first 20 minutes. Trailing 5-2 in the opening minutes, Justin Henderson '16 scored nine consecutive points, all from distance, to give the Soaring Eagles an 11-5 advantage at the 16:13 mark. Then Hayden Harkins '18 had the hot hand, as he buried a trio of treys in a span of two-and-a-half minutes to give Elmira a 24-11 cushion.

After an Anthony Abate '19 triple with seven-and-a-half minutes to go before halftime extended the EC advantage to 34-16, the Hawks began chipping away at the lead with a 14-6 run. Elmira finished the half shooting 2-for-10 from the field, an ominous sign for what was to come in the second half. In the second half, Elmira's offense made only 31.0 percent (9-for-29) of its shots from the floor, including a 5-for-14 effort from three-point range. On the other hand, the Hawks heated up in the second half, scoring 51 points to overcome the 10-point deficit. Hartwick finished the second half 18-for-30 (60.0 percent) from the field.

Hartwick flew out of the locker room with a 13-3 run to tie the game at 43-all. Then an unconventional three-point play from center Matt Wilson gave the Hawks the lead for good. At the 14:149 mark, Wilson sunk a layup and the charity free throw to put the Hawks up 45-44. The next Hartwick possession ended with a Trevor Norton trey to make it 48-44.

The home squad would secure the lead with 11 unanswered points in a span of 1:14, turning a three-point advantage into a 68-54 lead with 5:30 to play.

Turning Point
Elmira lived by the three in the first half, as two-thirds of EC's successful field goals came from downtown. In addition, the Purple and Gold shot an outstanding 52.6 percent (10-for-19) from three-point range. After the halftime intermission, however, the EC offense went cold, as the Soaring Eagles only scored nine second-half field goals. Meanwhile Hartwick's senior big man Matt Wilson scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes to lead the comeback for the Hawks.

Inside the Box

• Elmira finished with a 40.7 field-goal percentage after a 50.0 percent start in the first half.
• Hartwick shot 58.5 percent (31-for-53) from the field.
• Led by Wilson, a 6-foot-9 center, Hawks held a 37-to-27 advantage in rebounds and outscored EC 44-16 in the paint.
• Hayden Harkins '18 and Justin Henderson '16 led Elmira with 21 and 18 points, respectively, with all 39 points coming off of 13 three-pointers.
• Justin Porrett '19 dished out a team-high eight assists.
• Wilson and Jake Sinicki registered double-doubles, with Wilson earning game highs with 26 points and 12 boards in addition to four blocks.

News and Notes

• Elmira has now lost six straight games to open 2016, all against Empire 8 opponents.
• The last time the Soaring Eagles opened conference play with six straight losses was the 2011-12 season, a year Elmira opened 0-11 against league opponents.
• EC's 45.5 three-point field-goal percentage and 15 made treys are the second-highest totals of the season for each category.
• Hartwick is the sixth opponent to shoot above 50.0 percent from the field.
• Harkins' 21 points are the second-most the second-year shooter has scored in a game in his career.
• Henderson's 60.0 three-point field-goal percentage is a season high.
• Henderson now has 100 made three-pointers in his career.
• With 14 points, Gino Leonardi '16 has now scored double-digit points in four straight games and nine out of his last 10.

Up Next
The Elmira College men's basketball team concludes its four-game road swing with a 6:00 p.m. contest against Houghton College on Tuesday, January 19th.