ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team hosts Nazareth College for an Empire 8 Conference tilt tomorrow evening at Speidel Gymnasium. Tip-off for the league bout is slated for 6:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles suffered a 98-89 loss to Alfred on Tuesday, January 16, at Speidel Gymnasium. It was an up-and-down battle for much of the bout, as EC trailed by just two points, 39-37, heading into the halftime break. At the start of the second half, the Saxons began to pull away, as their 77.8 percent field-goal percentage in the half resulted in an 18-point advantage, 85-67, with 4:13 left in the game. Despite facing such a margin, the Purple and Gold continued to fight, cutting the deficit to just four points, 91-87, following a
Henry Cuffee '19 layup with 1:10 remaining. This would be the closest Elmira would come, as the Saxons sank their late free throws to seal the victory.
Jeremy Every '20 led the Soaring Eagles in scoring with 21 points.
Jesse Adelson '20 also had a noteworthy game, as he tallied 19 points, his fourth-straight double-digit scoring output.
Justin Porrett '19 finished the night as the only player with a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists.
ASSISTS MACHINE
With 10 more assists against Alfred on Tuesday, Porrett continued his incredible season passing the ball. The Dumont, New Jersey, native leads the E8 and ranks second in the country in assists per game (7.7). Porrett has been consistently good at facilitating his teammates all season, as he has reached double-digit assists four times this year and has posted at least five helpers in all but one game. His assist total is inching closer to the EC single-season leaderboard, as his 115 helpers this year are already 12 shy of cracking Elmira's top-10 in that category.
FRESHMAN FIRSTS
As the season rolls on, the Soaring Eagles have been giving some underclassmen more playing time to figure out their roles as the season progresses. Rookie forward
Shawn Backus '21 sits atop this group, as he has played at least 17 minutes in three consecutive contests, including a season-high 25 in his first career start against the Saxons. Guard
Mason Weir '21 has also seen more court time of late, averaging 17.7 minutes per game over the last three tilts. Weir has made the most of his added playing time, as he scored a season-high 11 points against Alfred.
SERIES HISTORY
Today's tilt marks the 65th all-time meeting between the Soaring Eagles and Golden Flyers, a series that dates back to the 1978-79 campaign. EC has not won in the series since 2004-05, when Elmira earned a 71-66 victory in the Southern Tier on February 19, 2005.
SCOUTING NAZARETH
The Golden Flyers, who rank second in the E8 with a 5-1 record, have excelled of late after winning six of their last eight games, which brings Naz's overall record to 10-5. Nazareth's lone loss in conference play came against Hartwick on Saturday, 85-69, at the Hawks' Lambros Arena. The Golden Flyers have been able to ascend the conference leaderboard by playing efficiently on both ends of the court. Offensively, Naz ranks second in the league in team field-goal percentage (46.4), while Nazareth's defense holds its opponents to a 43.8 field-goal percentage, the third-best in the E8. This has resulted in the Golden Flyers owing the conference's fourth-highest scoring margin (plus-2.9 ppg). Nazareth has also done very well controlling the ball, as it ranks first in the conference and 28th in the country in turnovers per game (11.4). Pacing this effective offense is senior guard Tyler Stenglein, who leads the team in both points (20.1) and assists per game (4.2), with the former also ranking second in the E8. Junior forward Jake Burgio has been the team's best post threat, as he leads the team in rebounds per game (8.5) and ranks second in points (17.0), in addition to owning a league-best 63.3 field-goal percentage.
UP NEXT
Elmira's season-long three-game homestand comes to a close on Thursday, January 25, when the Soaring Eagles welcome Hartwick to Speidel Gymnasium for an Empire 8 clash. Tip-off for the league contest is slated for 6:00 p.m.
