Score: Houghton College 70, Elmira College 64
Records: (8-12, 3-8 E8), Elmira (3-17, 1-10 E8)
Location: Elmira, N.Y. - Speidel Gymnasium

ELMIRA, N.Y. -- A thrilling effort from second-year guard Justin Porrett '19 turned Saturday's game into an exciting finish, but the Elmira College men's basketball was unable to complete a comeback against Houghton College and fell by a score of 70-64 at Speidel Gymnasium.

The Purple and Gold led the Highlanders for the majority of the conference contest, including a slim 29-28 margin at halftime. Hayden Harkins '18 jumpstarted the offense with a trey for the first points of the game, an four consecutive points from Henry Cuffee '19 had the Soaring Eagles leading by four points, 9-5, three-and-a-half minutes in.
Rookie guard Alex Ischiropoulos '20 gave EC its largest cushion of the night at 14-6 with five unanswered points, including his lone make from beyond the arc, at the 14-minute mark.

The Soaring Eagles would maintain the lead for the next nine-plus minutes, until Houghton's Carl Holmes connected from 3-point range to make it 25-23 in favor of the Highlanders. However, Elmira used an and-one from Cuffee and a trey from Harkins to regain the one-point lead before halftime.

Anthony Abate '19 scored a bucket and added a foul shot for an unconventional three-point play five-and-a-half minutes into the second half, which gave the hosts a 39-36 advantage. EC last held the lead at 41-40 following a Nicky Sim '19 layup, but the Highlanders broke a 47-47 tie to climb ahead by as many as nine points late in the second half.

Although they trailed by nine, 65-56, with under a minute remaining regulation, the Soaring Eagles did not go down without a fight. Porrett brought the crowd to its feet and had the EC bench fired up with a fantastic sequence of plays, which began with a layup to cut the deficit to seven points, 65-58. With the full-court press on during the ensuing inbounds play, the product of Dumont, New Jersey, intercepted a tipped pass, finished with a left-handed lay-in, and drew a foul. His and-one had Elmira down by just four points, 65-61.

Houghton's Dylan Lambert converted three of his next four free throw attempts to extend the Highlander lead to 68-61, but with 7.2 ticks left on the clock, Harkins kept EC's hopes alive with another 3-pointer. It was too little, too late, however, as the Highlanders sealed the win with two more foul shots with six seconds remaining.

Turning Point
Long before the frantic last-minute comeback attempt, the two teams were knotted at 47-all with just over nine minutes to play. The Highlanders scored the next seven points to pull ahead, a run capped off by a Lambert 3-pointer. After trading buckets, Holmes sunk another trey to turn a five-point spread into a 59-51 lead. Those deep shots were enough to extend the lead to a comfortable margin and keep momentum on Houghton's side until the final moments.

Inside the Box

• Houghton edged Elmira in field goal percentage, 48.9-to-45.6.
• EC had a slim lead in rebounds, 29-28.
• Both teams made five 3-pointers, although the Highlanders finished 5-for-15, as compared to a 5-for-20 effort from Elmira.
• The Highlanders made 19-of-26 free throws, while the Soaring Eagles attempted just nine foul shots and made seven.
• Cuffee paced EC with 21 points and finished 9-for-11 from the field.
• Cuffee also recorded four rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
• Harkins and Porrett each scored double-digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
• Davis collected a game-high-tying nine rebounds.
• Lambert paced all scorers with 25 points, followed by Holmes with 14 and Jonathan Stowe with 11.
• Stowe also registered a game-high tying nine rebounds.

News and Notes

• Elmira's record sits at 3-17 and 1-10 inside E8 play.
• In a pregame ceremony, the Soaring Eagles recognized a pair of seniors – Davis and Ryan Brooksbank '17 – as part of Class of 2017 Recognition Day at Speidel Gymnasium.
• Cuffee registered his second career game with 20-plus points on Saturday.
• Cuffee's 21 points are the most he's scored since netting 24 in the second game of the season against SUNY Canton back in November.
• Hayden's double-digit performance was his ninth such outing of the season.
• Hayden has made three-or-more 3-pointers on 10 occasions as a junior.
• Porrett scored double-digit points for the second straight game and for the 11th time as a sophomore.
• Nine rebounds are the most for Davis since he grabbed 10 during the season opener on November 15th.

Up Next
Elmira will travel north up Route 13 on Tuesday, February 7th, for a road game against the Bombers of Ithaca College. The Empire 8 Conference matchup is slated for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.