Score: Hilbert College 74 – Elmira College 64
Records: Hilbert (1-0), Elmira (0-1)
Location: Hafner Recreation Center – Hamburg, N.Y.
 
HAMBURG, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team opened the 2016-17 campaign on the road tonight against a tough Hilbert College squad in non-conference action. Elmira led for nearly the entire first half, and just about four minutes of the second stanza, before the Hawks rallied for a 74-64 season-opening victory on their home court at the Hafner Recreation Center in Hamburg, New York.
 
Elmira's balanced first-half scoring and concentrated effort on protecting the ball was key for the Soaring Eagles, who led by as many as nine points in the opening frame. Six players finished the first half with four or more points, but none of those six scored more than five, accounting for 27 of Elmira's 29 points. The even scoring helped the Purple and Gold take a 29-24 lead into the halftime break.
 
Had it not been for Hilbert's consistency from the free-throw line, Elmira could have very well taken a double-digit lead into halftime. The Hawks were sent to the charity stripe 12 times in the opening 20 minutes and knocked down 10 of those attempts (83.3-percent).
 
Hilbert turned things up defensively in the second half, forcing nine Soaring Eagle turnovers, which allowed the Hawks to score 10 points off of those takeaways. The ramped-up effort on defense did not stop there, as Hilbert contested a bevy of attempts in the paint, resulting in seven second-half blocked shots.
 
Three of Hilbert's blocks came in the opening three minutes of the half, which helped the home team capture a 30-29 lead with 16:24 to play in regulation, the Hawks' first lead since the opening minutes of the first half.
 
From that point on, the lead changed hands five times, with Elmira holding a 42-41 advantage with 10:53 to play. However, the Hawks pieced together a 10-0 run over the next 2:39 to take a 51-42 lead.
 
The Hilbert lead hovered around eight points for the majority of the second half, but a late Elmira rally, capped by a deep three-pointer by Hayden Harkins '18, made it just a two possession game with 1:12 to play, 66-62. Elmira was hoping for some late-game magic, but Hilbert would go on to knock down seven of its next eight free throw attempts, while EC went 0-for-3 from the field on its three possessions, which resulted in the Hawks taking their largest lead of the game with 21 seconds to play, 73-62.
 
Hilbert's 11-point advantage late down the stretch proved to be too much to overcome, as the Hawks handed the Soaring Eagles their first defeat of the season by a 74-64 final score.
 
Turning Point
Aside from shooting at a 38.2-percent clip in the first half, Elmira played very well in the opening 20 minutes of tonight's contest. EC outrebounded Hilbert and won the turnover battle as well, committing just three compared to Hilbert's seven. However, Hilbert's defensive efforts in the second half really swung the momentum back in its favor. The Hawks forced 10 second-half turnovers and rejected seven shots, five of those blocks coming in the first five minutes of the half.
 
Inside the Box Score

• Hilbert went 22-for-54 from the field (40.7%).
• Elmira was 26-for-69 from the floor (37.7%).
• The Soaring Eagles connected on 6-of-16 three-point attempts (37.5%).
• Hilbert knocked down just 2-of-10 three-pointers (20.0%).
• Hilbert was sent to the line 35 times and drained 28 attempts (80.0%).
• Elmira connected on 6-of-8 free-throw attempts (75.0%).
• The Hawks narrowly won the battle of the boards, 41-38.
• Elmira edged Hilbert in the turnover department, committing 13, while the Hawks had 14 errors.
• Hilbert's bench was key tonight, contributing 27 points compared to Elmira's 12.
• Harkins led all players with a game-high 18 points.
• Justin Porrett '19 and Anthony Abate '19 each scored 11 points.
• Porrett also dished out a pair of assists and grabbed four rebounds.
• Rookie Jeremy Every '20 finished with eight points and a team-high three assists.
• Matt Davis '17 led EC with 10 rebounds; Henry Cuffee '19 was close behind with nine.
• Five different Hilbert players finished with double-digit points, including a pair of 11-point efforts from off of the bench.  

 
News and Notes

• The 74-point total is the fewest Elmira has allowed since EC's 75-70 win over Stevens (1/30/16).
• Hilbert improved to 4-1 all-time against Elmira.
• Harkins' 18 points is the third-highest point total of his collegiate career.
• Davis' 10 rebounds were a career high.
• Cuffee tied his career-high rebound total with nine boards.

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to action this Friday, November 18th, as the Soaring Eagles take on the Roos of SUNY Canton in the opening round of the Max Ziel Tournament, hosted by Oswego State. Friday's non-league contest is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m.