ELMIRA, N.Y. -- After a brief three-day break, the Elmira College men's basketball team is set to resume Empire 8 Conference play on Saturday, January 28th, when the Soaring Eagles migrate to Oneonta, New York, to square off with Hartwick College at 4:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
EC suffered a 78-45 setback at the hands of Nazareth College on its home hardwood on Tuesday, January 24th. Just three days after recording their second-best shooting percentage of the season in a win over Ithaca, the Soaring Eagles' offense went cold versus the Golden Flyers, as Elmira finished 14-of-51 (27.5 percent) from the field and 2-of-15 (13.3 percent) from 3-point range. EC was held scoreless for the first five minutes and mustered only two points in the first eight-and-a-half minutes. The Soaring Eagles were unable to recover from the slow start, although Adam Park '18 provided a late spark with eight second-half points. Justin Porrett '19 also tallied eight of his team-high 11 points in the second half.

CHARITABLE DONATIONS
Although the Elmira offense struggled from the field against Nazareth, the Soaring Eagles excelled at the charity stripe. EC was successful on 15-of-16 attempts from the line, equaling a conversion rate of 93.8 percent. That's the best free throw percentage in a game for the Purple and Gold since January 9, 2015, when Elmira shot 95.5 percent (21-of-22) in a win over Utica College.  Justin Porrett '19 and Henry Cuffee '19 each made five foul shots against the Gold Flyers; Porrett connected on all five of his attempts, giving him a perfect percentage for the first time this season, while Cuffee recorded a season high in free throw makes while shooting 5-for-6.

SERIES HISTORY
The rivalry between these feathered foes is the longest running in program history, as Saturday's encounter will be with 73rd all-time meeting between the Soaring Eagles and Hawks. Following a 71-65 win over the Purple and Gold at Speidel Gymnasium on January 3rd, Hartwick extended its lead in the series to 46-26. EC dropped this year's season opener despite leading for the majority of the second half; EC was ahead, 62-60, with four-and-a-half minutes to play, but was outscored 11-3 down the stretch. The all-time series margin is much slimmer when looking solely at Empire 8 history, as the Hawks hold a 23-18 advantage since the 1996-97 season, when the original Empire Athletic Association was formed. EC's last win over Hartiwck in Oneonta came during the 2014-15 campaign by a final score of 85-73.

HARTWICK AT A GLANCE
Since beating Elmira on January 3rd, the Hawks have gone 3-4 in their last seven Empire 8 contests, evening their conference record at 4-4. Overall, Hartwick boasts an 11-6 record and is 6-2 at home this season. Three of those home wins came in consecutive outings against Stevens Institute of Technology, Alfred University, and Houghton College from January 10th-14th. Since then, however, the Hawks have dropped a pair of road games in Rochester, New York, against St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College. The trio of Joey Lufkin, Jake Sinicki, and Brandon LaForest fuel the E8's most potent offense, which leads the league in points per game (83.4), and is second in both field goal percentage (46.5) and 3-pointers per game (9.6). Individually, Lufkin, Sinicki, and LaForest are fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively, on the conference's scoring leaderboard, as all three average at least 17.0 points per game. While Lufkin sat out the conference opener in Elmira, Sinicki and LaForest combined to net 52 points to lead Hartwick past EC.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Soaring Eagles return to Elmira for a season-long three-game homestand at Speidel Gymnasium, beginning on Tuesday, January 31st, with an 8:00 p.m. contest against the Cardinals of St. John Fisher.