Score: Hartwick College 71, Elmira College 65
Records: Hartwick (8-2, 1-0 E8), Elmira (2-8, 0-1 E8)
Location: Elmira, N.Y.  - Speidel Gymnasium

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Hartwick College outlasted the Elmira College men's basketball team by a final score of 71-65 in an exciting Empire 8 Conference opener Tuesday night at Speidel Gymnasium.

Trailing by two points at halftime, the spirited Soaring Eagles raced out to a lead that they would maintain for the majority of the second half. EC opened the period with an 11-2 run to turn a 31-29 deficit into a seven-point cushion in a span of less than four minutes. Knotted at 31-all, Matt Davis '17 deposited a layup to give the Purple and Gold their first lead since they held a one-point advantage just a minute-and-a-half into the contest.

Hayden Harkins '18 spurred the run with one of his game-high five 3-pointers, and Alex Ischiropoulos '20 drove to the rim for a layup that increased the lead to 40-33 at the 16:15 mark of the second half. Midway through the period, Harkins and Ischiropoulos each buried treys that extended Elmira's advantage to eight points, its largest of the night. The latter off of the hands of the freshman from Media, Pennsylvania, put EC up 52-44 with 10:14 remaining in regulation.

The Hawks, however, had an answer for both of those 3-point makes, as Jake Sinicki and Brandon LaForest responded with treys of their own on the ensuing possessions, each time cutting the deficit down to five points. The 3-pointer from LaForest at the 9:59 mark sparked what turned into a 12-2 run, as Hartwick roared back from a 52-44 hole to pull ahead by two, 54-52.

EC continued to trade blows with the Hawks, exchanging one-point margins until a Justin Porrett '19 free throw gave the Soaring Eagles their last lead of the night, a 62-60 cushion with four-and-a-half minutes left.

From there, the Hawks finished with an 11-3 run, beginning with a LaForest 3-pointer. During that spurt, Elmira missed seven of its final eight field goals and turned the ball over three times in last four minutes.  Hartwick made six of its eight shots from the foul line down the stretch to solidify the victory.

The Soaring Eagles closed the first half with an impressive run to set up the second-half flurry. Down 24-17 with 5:15 to go in the first period, EC netted 10 of the next 13 points, highlighted by a trey from the 6-foot-7-inch senior forward Davis to tie the game at 27-27. Following four straight free throws from LaForest, Porrett laid in two points to bring Elmira within two points, 31-29.

Turning Point
Down by two at the intermission, the Soaring Eagles flew out of the locker room and held the lead for approximately 10 minutes. However, from 8:39 to 7:08, Hartwick went on a momentous run that turned the tide in its favor. Following an and-one from Sinicki, LaForest stripped Harkins and went coast-to-coast for a fast-break lay-in to reduced EC's advantage to a mere two points, 54-52. The Hawks regained the lead for the first time since the halftime break with four consecutive free throws, two each from LaForest and Sinicki, setting up the visitors for a big finish.

Inside the Box Score

• Hartwick shot 24-for-49 (49.0-percent) from the field.
• The Soaring Eagles finished 26-for-69 (37.7-percent) from the floor.
• The Hawks held a large margin in free throws, making 16-of-25, as compared to EC's 5-of-7.
• Both teams finished with 36 rebounds.
• Elmira committed only 12 turnovers, while the Hawks had 15.
• The Soaring Eagles held a 12-to-8 advantage in assists.
• Harkins finished with a team-leading 19 points and a game-high five 3-pointers.
• Porrett filled up the stat sheet with 15 points, a game-high eight assists and a team-leading seven rebounds.
• Davis ended the game with nine points and five rebounds.
• Ischiropoulos and Henry Cuffee '19 each scored eight points.
• LaForest and Sinicki combined to score 52 of Hartwick's 71 points.
• LaForest paced all scorers with 27, followed closely by Sinicki with 25.
• Both LaForest and Sinicki finished 8-for-14 from the field and each made three treys.

News and Notes

• Elmira fell to 2-8 overall and 0-1 inside conference play.
• The Hawks extended their advantage in the all-time series to 46-26.
• The 19 points scored by Harkins represent his second-highest single-game total of his junior season.
• Harkins' five 3-pointers are the most he has made since he netted a season-high seven on December 4th against St. Lawrence University.
• 15 points mark Porrett's second-best total of the season and his fifth double-digit effort.
• Porrett's eight assists are tied for the second-most that he has dished out this season.
• Davis' nine points are a season high for the senior forward.
• The 3-pointer recorded by Davis is the third of his EC career.
• Rookie guard Ischiropoulos made his second consecutive start.
• EC's 12 turnovers are the second-fewest recorded by the Soaring Eagles in a game this season.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will continue play inside the Empire 8 Conference with a road trip to Hoboken, New Jersey, to face the Ducks of Stevens Institute of Technology on Saturday, January 7th, at 8:00 p.m.