Score: Stevens Institute of Technology 95 – Elmira College 94 (OT)
Records: Stevens (5-5, 1-1 E8), Elmira (2-8, 0-1 E8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, NY
 
Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team opened Empire 8 Conference play on Monday afternoon when it welcomed Stevens Institute of Technology to Speidel Gymnasium. The Soaring Eagles showed their incredible heart and resiliency throughout the contest, but ultimately Elmira would fall just short of starting conference play on a winning note in a 95-94 overtime loss to the Ducks.
 
For the second consecutive game the Purple and Gold displayed same late heroics at the end of regulation. Trailing by three after Stevens' Kevin Zychowski sunk a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining; Gino Leonardi '16 took the inbounds pass and weaved his way through the Ducks press for one last shot. Blanketed by two defenders, the senior point guard rose for a jumper and knocked down a highly contested triple at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
 
With the momentum in their favor following the thrilling conclusion to regulation, the Soaring Eagles jumped out to an early two-point lead on a pair of made free throws from Justin Henderson '16. However, on this day the Ducks would not be denied. Stevens' Patrick Barron drilled a trey on the ensuing possession, giving the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.
 
Although the Ducks would grow the lead to as large as seven during the extra session, the Soaring Eagles displayed their incredible heart and tenacity, cutting the deficit to a single point four separate times. It looked as though it was going to be déjà vu all over again for Elmira, as Henry Cuffee '19 would force a late steal with three seconds remaining. Unfortunately, unlike last Wednesday against Endicott, Elmira could not find the magic this time, as a final shot from beyond half court by Justin Ruback '18 fell short of the hoop as time expired.
 
The game did not look as if it was going to be the classic that it was during the opening moments of the contest. The Ducks entered with the conference's most post offense and wasted little time in getting it kicked into high gear. Zychowski knocked down a long triple to lift the Ducks to a game-high nine-point advantage with 13:36 remaining in the first half. Elmira would not panic, refusing to chase the game and remaining true to their methodical half court sets. The Soaring Eagles would slowly chip away, eventually gaining a brief one-point lead at 34-33 with 2:13 remaining in the half. The Ducks would close the opening 20 minutes on a 7-0 run, capped by a three-quarter court heave by Stevens' Evan Klimchak that banked off the window and in at the buzzer.
 
The Ducks would stretch their advantage to seven points on six different occasions during the second stanza, but Elmira would have an answer each time. A 9-2 run by the Soaring Eagles during the final five minutes, capped by an elbow jumper from Henderson to equalize the score at 70 apiece with 2:26 remaining, set the stage for the epic finish.
 
Turning Point
After Leonardi's late game heroics to send the game to the extra session, Elmira looked to have all the momentum. Speidel Gymnasium was rocking, as Henderson lifted the Soaring Eagles to an early two-point advantage to open overtime. The Ducks' Patrick Barron drilled a huge triple to quiet the Elmira faithful to give Stevens a lead it would not relinquish. He would finish with seven of the Ducks' 17 points in the extra session.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Elmira narrowly edged Stevens in terms of shooting, going 48.5 percent (32-for-66) from the field compared to the Ducks 47.8 percent (33-for-69).
• The Soaring Eagles scorched the nylon in the second half, going 18-of-32 from the field during the final 20 minutes of regulation.
• Elmira held a fairly sizeable advantage from three-point range, connecting on 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) compared to Stevens 7-for-22 (31.8 percent) mark from beyond the arc.
• Stevens held a 39-to-32 advantage in rebounding.
• Elmira held a narrow 17-to-15 advantage in assists.
• Leonardi had a monster game for the Soaring Eagles, posting a season-high 29 points and eight assists, while also adding six rebounds.
• Henderson also posted his finest game of the season, finishing with a  season-high 25 points on a season-best seven three-point makes.
• Ruback led the Soaring Eagles with seven rebounds. 

News and Notes

• With the loss, Elmira fell to 4-12 in Empire 8 Conference openers dating back to the 2000-01 season.
• Elmira is now 1-16 all-time against the Ducks in the overall series. The loss snapped Elmira's one-game winning streak over Stevens.
• The Soaring Eagles limited the high-flying Ducks offense to just 78 points through 40 minutes of regulation. It marked the second lowest output by Stevens through 40 minutes of regulation play this season.
• Elmira limited Stevens to just seven three-point makes in the contest, the Ducks' lowest output this season.
• Leonardi's 29 points marked a new career high, while his eight assists tied a career high, which he set last season in a 62-56 victory over Fredonia on February 3rd.
• Henderson's seven three-point makes marked a season-high for the senior captain. He came just one make short of equaling his career-best of eight, which he accomplished twice last season. 

Up Next
Elmira will return to action on Friday, January 8th, when it opens a weekend back-to-back with a 6:00 p.m. tip against St. John Fisher College at Speidel Gymnasium. The Soaring Eagles will conclude its busy week the following evening when they square off with Nazareth College at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 9th.