Score: Alfred University 85, Elmira College 80
Records: Alfred (10-15, 6-10 E8), Elmira (4-21, 2-14 E8)
Location: Alfred, NY - Terry S. Galanis Family Arena

Alfred, NY -- Gino Leonardi '16 left it all on the court in the final game of his collegiate career, as the fourth-year guard scored a career-high 32 points in Elmira College's 85-80 loss to Alfred University in Saturday's season finale.

The Spencer, NY, native shot 13-for-22 from the field, including 3-for-6 from beyond the arc and 3-for-3 from the line, to score the most points by a Soaring Eagle since Neil Randolph '15 netted 32 on November 23, 2013 against Hilbert College. Leonardi is only the fourth Elmira player to score 30-plus points in a single game in the last decade.

Leonardi scored the first points of the game to give EC one of only two leads on the afternoon. He made another layup at the 11:01 mark of the first half to put the Soaring Eagles up 12-11, but 34 seconds later, Alfred regained the lead for good. The Saxons led by as much as 17 in the second half, but the Purple and Gold threatened with a late rally. With less than five minutes to play, Leonardi hit a trey and Henry Cuffee '19 buried a jumper to cut a 12-point Alfred advantage to seven points, 71-64. Down by 11, Leonardi scored back-to-back layups, the latter an and-one with 1:01 to play, which brought Elmira within six points, 80-74. Paul Bischoff '18 nailed a triple with 21 seconds left and Anthony Abate '19 hit a buzzer-beating trey, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback.

Turning Point
The Soaring Eagles only trailed by five points at halftime, 33-28. The Saxons, however, opened the second half with a 21-9 run to extend the lead to 17 points. Sparking the second-half spurt was Tyler Seelman off of the Alfred bench, who made two treys in the first minute of the second half and another three-pointer at the 13:40 mark to make it 52-37. Although the Soaring Eagles fought back, the deficit proved to be too large for EC to overcome.

Inside the Box

• Both teams were efficient from the floor, as Elmira shot 50.8-percent (31-for-61) and Alfred finished with a 58.0 field-goal percentage (29-for-50).
• EC was 10-for-24 from beyond the arc and Alfred finished 6-for-15 from three-point range.
• Alfred held an advantage in free throws, converting 21-of-29 attempts, whereas EC was only 8-for-12.
• The Soaring Eagles out-rebounded Alfred, 32-to-29.
• Leonardi scored a game-high 32 points, hauled in four rebounds and dished out three assists.
• Abate scored all 12 of his points in the second half.
• Justin Ruback '18 also finished with double digits for EC and had a team-high five rebounds.
• Four Saxons finished with double figures, led by Dalton Cousin and Seelman with 18 and 17, respectively, off of the bench.

News and Notes

• Elmira concludes the 2015-16 season with a 4-21 overall record and 2-14 conference mark.
• Leonardi's 32 points mark a career high, three more than his previous best scored against Stevens Institute of Technology on January 4th.
• Leonardi is only the fourth player in the past 10 seasons to score 30-or-more points for Elmira, while his new personal record falls six points shy of the program single-game record of 38, set Trenton Tate '85 against D'Youville College on February 25, 1985.
• Abate's 12 points tie his season high and his three made treys mark a career high.
• Ruback's five made field goals are a season high, while his 11 points are one shy of his season best.