Elmira vs. John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Game Details	Sunday, Nov. 26 | Elmira, N.Y. | 2:00 p.m.
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ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team will hit the hardwood inside Speidel Gymnasium on Sunday, November 26, when the Soaring Eagles host the Bloodhounds of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The opening tip-off for the non-conference bout is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles were handed an 87-80 loss on the road against the Pennsylvania College of Technology on Tuesday, November 21. EC was unable to contain the Wildcats' offense, which shot a blistering 54.2 percent (32-of-59) from the field and 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from 3-point range. Not only do those figures represent season highs for Penn College, but they are also the worst allowed by the Elmira defense through the first four games of the 2017-18 campaign. The Soaring Eagles flew past the Wildcats early in the opening half and took a double-digit lead within the first five-and-a-half minutes. A 17-5 run, which was fueled by five makes from beyond the arc, put Elmira up 17-7 at the 14:36 mark, but Penn College managed to level the score at 29-all with five minutes left before the intermission and took a slim 38-37 advantage into the locker room at halftime. It didn't take long in the second half for the Wildcats to build a double-digit lead of their own, thanks to some clutch 3-point shooting. After trailing by as many as 14 points, Hayden Harkins '18 sunk a trey that trimmed the deficit to four points, 79-75, with 2:35 to play in regulation, but that was as close as EC would come. Harkins made a game-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 23 points, while Henry Cuffee '19 posted a double-double with a game-high-tying 25 points and a game-best 12 rebounds.
 
SCOOT'S STRONG START
Cuffee, Elmira's third-year standout in the post, is off to an incredible start through the first four games of the 2017-18 season. The Bel Air, Maryland, native leads the team and is tied for fourth in the Empire 8 Conference with 20.0 points per game. He also paces the Purple and Gold and ranks second in the conference in rebounding with 9.8 boards per contest. Cuffee has logged a double-double in all four games this season, one more than he amassed throughout his entire sophomore season. In EC's 103-90 triumph over Oswego State at the EC Tip-Off Tournament, the 6-foot-5-inch forward only collected five rebounds, but dished out a career-high 10 assists to go along with 10 points. In his last outing, the road loss against Penn College, Cuffee set a new single-game career-high with 25 points off 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) shooting and matched his career best with 12 rebounds. He was also very efficient from 3-point range in that bout, as he made 3-of-4 (75 percent) attempts from beyond the arc.
 
FROM DOWNTOWN
Harkins, a 6-foot-5-inch forward from Tampa, Florida, has established a reputation as one of the best 3-point shooting threats in the entire Empire 8 and is penciling his name as one of Elmira's all-time greats from long range. The fourth-year sharpshooter leads the E8 with 5.0 3-point field goals per game, with 15 of his 20 treys coming in EC's last two games. With seven more on Tuesday against the Wildcats, Harkins moved into sole possession of third-place all-time in Elmira history with 198 career 3-pointers, having surpassed former teammate Neil Randolph '15 (196). Two more successful makes from beyond the arc will make Harkins one of just three Soaring Eagles to amassed 200-plus career treys.
 
500 CLUB
Elmira's home win over Oswego State at the EC Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday, November 19, was a special one for the Soaring Eagles, as it marked the 500th all-time victory in the program's 48-year history.
 
SCOUTING JOHN JAY
Last year, the Bloodhounds increased their win total by eight from the season prior by going 11-16 in 2016-17, but they were eliminated from the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) Tournament Quarterfinals by Baruch, 67-58. John Jay won its 2017-18 season opener against St. Joseph's College (L.I.) by a final score of 83-67 on Saturday, November 18. Leading the way for the Bloodhounds last season was Essien Epps, who was named a First-Team CUNYAC All-Star. As a sophomore, Epps paced the team in points (18.0), rebounds (8.1) and steals (2.8) per game, the latter which ranked seventh in all of Division III. Senior guard MiKing Richardson will be at the helm of the John Jay offense, after leading the team in assists last season with 4.1 per game, fourth-most in the CUNYAC. In the post, the Bloodhounds will rely heavily on 6-foot-7-inch forward Doug Levy and 6-foot-8-inch transfer Hakeem Animashaun. Last season, Levy finished second on the team with 6.6 boards per game and ranked second in the CUNYAC with 1.5 blocks per game. Animashaun, who joined John Jay this season after spending his freshman year at Salem State, paced the team with 20 points and hauled in seven rebounds in the team's season-opening victory over St. Joseph's.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Today's game marks just the second all-time meeting between the Soaring Eagles and the John Jay Bloodhounds. The previous encounter saw Elmira drop an 87-78 contest to John Jay on November 22, 1986, at the York Tournament in York, Pennsylvania.

UP NEXT
Elmira will next play on Saturday, December 9, when it heads to Purchase, New York, to challenge Manhattanville College. Tip-off for the non-conference contest is scheduled for at 3:00 p.m.