Score: Houghton College 84, Elmira College 73
Records: Houghton (7-7, 2-3 E8), Elmira (2-11, 0-4 E8)
Location: Houghton, New York - The Nielsen Center

HOUGHTON, N.Y. -- A valiant 3-point shooting effort by Alex Ischiropoulos '20 in the second half allowed the Elmira College men's basketball team to chip away at a once looming deficit, but it wasn't enough to guide the Soaring Eagles from behind, as Houghton College prevailed in Tuesday's Empire 8 Conference matchup, 84-73.

The host Highlanders used a pair of lengthy runs in each half to turn a once tied game into a lead as large as 25 points near the midway point of the second half. With the game knotted at 16-all at 10:05 in the first period, Houghton went on a 20-4 run to pull ahead by 16 points, 36-20, with four minutes remaining before the halftime break. The Highlanders sealed the end of the first half with a last-second trey from Dylan Lambert, which gave the Highlanders a 47-30 advantage at the intermission.

In the second half, Houghton blew the game wide open with a 10-0 run in a span of 2:52. A layup from Jonathan Stowe capped off the spurt and gave the Highlanders their largest lead of the night, a 25-point cushion at 69-44.

At that point, the game looked all but over, but the 3-point shooting prowess of rookie guard Ischiropoulos gave the Soaring Eagles new life inside the final nine-and-a-half minutes of regulation. The product of Media, Pennsylvania, drained a game-high seven treys, six of which came in the second half and nearly sparked an epic comeback.

Ischiropoulos single-handedly halted the latter of the Houghton runs, as he sunk 3-pointers on three consecutive EC possessions to trim the deficit to 71-53 with 8:17 to play. He connected on his fifth 3-pointer of that half to jumpstart a 7-0 Elmira run, one that had the Purple and Gold within 13 points, 73-60.

A trio of three-point plays inside the final five minutes cut the Houghton lead to single digits for the first time since the first half. Another Ischiropoulos 3-pointer, an and-one from Justin Porrett '19, and a trey off the hands of Kyle McCreery '20 made it an 80-71 game with just under a minute to play. From there, however, the frantic EC offense only managed to net two more points on a McCreery layup, while the Highlanders made good on their four foul shots to reach the final score.

Turning Point
Elmira proved that it had the firepower to overcome a sizable lead, as the Soaring Eagles slashed a 25-point deficit down to just nine points before the end of the game. However, the Highlanders' lead proved to be simply too much to overcome. Houghton's 10-point run that extended a 59-44 advantage into a 69-44 cushion turned out to be the insurance the hosts needed in the end. During that run, EC went 0-for-3 from the field and committed one turnover, at a time when it needed to capitalize on every possession.

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira finished with a 44.8 field goal percentage on 26-of-58 shooting.
• EC made 9-of-21 attempts from 3-point range, including a 7-of-14 effort in the second half.
• Houghton made 31-of-61 field goals, equaling a 50.8 conversion rate.
• The Highlanders out-rebounded Elmira, 37-to-31.
• Houghton finished with a wide margin in blocks, 9-to-1.
• Porrett paced the Soaring Eagles with 23 points, three assists, and two steals.
• Porrett made 9-of-13 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws.
• Ischiropoulos scored 21 points, all from 3-point land, as he made 7-of-9 treys.
• Matt Davis '17 hauled in a team-leading eight rebounds and registered EC's lone block.
• Houghton's Dylan Lambert scored a game-high 34 points and made 14-of-20 field goals.
• Mike Clark and Phil Pellegrino scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.
• Stowe registered game highs with 12 rebounds and four blocked shots.

News and Notes

• Elmira falls to 2-11 on the season and 0-4 inside Empire 8 play.
• Porrett's 23 points are a season high and just one shy of his career best.
• Porrett's nine made field goals tied his previous career high.
• Ischiropoulos recorded season and career highs with 21 points and seven made treys.
• Ischiropoulos' 63.9 field goal percentage and 77.8 3-point percentage are also the highest single-game totals of his rookie season.
• The seven made 3-pointers by Ischiropoulos are the most by a Soaring Eagle since Hayden Harkins '18 tallied seven against St. Lawrence University on December 4th, 2016.
• Junior forward Ryan Chocek '18 made his long-awaited season debut and recorded one point, one rebound, and one assist in 14 minutes of action.

Up Next
On Thursday, January 19th, the Elmira men will travel to Alfred, New York, to face the Saxons of Alfred University. The E8 conference contest is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m.