Score: NYU 100, Elmira College 93
Records: NYU (5-2), Elmira (1-6)
Location: Hunter College Sportsplex -- New York, New York

NEW YORK, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team put a scare into the host Violets of New York University on Sunday afternoon at the Hunter College Sportsplex in Manhattan, but the Soaring Eagles' four-point halftime lead did not hold up, as the Violets secured a 100-93 non-league win.

The two sides went back-and-forth in the first half, with the Soaring Eagles going on an early 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead, which was capped off by a patented Jeremy Every '20 jump shot at the 17:33 mark. The Violets responded with a sizable run of their own to take the largest lead of the half, 23-13, a stretch that was punctuated by a  Douglas Gertner 3-pointer at 12:56.

Jesse Adelson '20 sparked a first-half comeback by the Purple and Gold by completing a four-point play, after being fouled on a successful trey. Rookie guard Isiah Charles '21 drained another 3-pointer 1:10 later to bring Elmira within three points, 23-20. Red-hot shooting from beyond the arc helped the Soaring Eagles overcome the first-half deficit, as Hayden Harkins '18 sunk a trey that made it a one-point difference and Adelson knotted the score at 32-all.

EC entered the halftime intermission on a 10-6 run that broke a 40-40 tie, as the Soaring Eagles led 50-46 at the break. The spurt began with a corner trey from Kyle McCreery '20 and concluded with another Harkins 3-point field goal. As a team, the Elmira finished 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from downtown in the opening half.

The shooting success continued briefly at the start of the second half, as EC opened the second stanza by making four of its first five field goals. After buckets from Justin Porrett '19, Every and Henry Cuffee '19, Harkins netted his fourth 3-pointer of the game. That trey gave the Soaring Eagles their largest lead of the game, 59-52, two-and-a-half minutes into the frame.

However, EC missed all 10 3-point attempts throughout the remainder of the contest, while the offense committed seven of its 10 turnovers in the final 17 minutes of regulation. Inefficiency in the front court allowed the Violets, who scored 12 points off of EC turnovers in the second half and shot a superb 63.3 percent (19-of-30), to chip away at the deficit and regain the lead.

Gertner converted a pair of free throws at the 14:17 mark that put NYU up by one, 62-61, a lead the Violets never relinquished.

With five minutes remaining, McCreery made the first of two foul shots to bring Elmira within four points of NYU, 84-80, but was unable to make it a one possession game after missing the second free throw. From there, the Violets scored seven consecutive points to extend their cushion to double digits for the first time in the second half at 91-80, all but sealing their come-from-behind win.

News and Notes

• Elmira falls to 1-6 on the season, including a 0-4 mark on the road.
• New York University extended its lead in the all-time series vs. EC to 4-0.
• The Soaring Eagle offense recorded its second-best field-goal percentage of the season (50.7) and committed a season-low 10 turnovers.
• Defensively, the Purple and Gold set a new season high with four blocks, all of which were swatted by Cuffee.
• Cuffee paced EC with 24 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
• Every's 20 points mark the second-highest total of his career and his second game with 20-plus points this year.
• Harkins made multiple 3-pointers for the fifth time in his senior season, resulting in his fifth game with double-digit points.
• Porrett scored double figures for the sixth time in 2017-18 and his eight assists are tied for the second-most he's distributed this season.
• Shawn Backus '21 finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line, equaling a season-high four points.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will play their final home game of the 2017 calendar year on Saturday, December 16, when Elmira hosts St. Lawrence University inside Speidel Gymnasium for a 4:00 p.m. non-conference contest.