Score: The Sage Colleges 98, Elmira College 72
Records: Sage (5-5, 1-1 Empire 8), Elmira (2-10, 0-3 Empire 8)
Location: Albany, N.Y. - Kahl Gymnasium

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Dominate play in the post by The Sage Colleges and cold second-half shooting by Elmira College allowed the host Gators to defeat the Soaring Eagles, 98-72, in Empire 8 Conference action at the Kahl Gymnasium in Albany, New York, on Saturday afternoon.

The Gators, who are in their first year as an Empire 8 member, finished Saturday's bout with significant advantages in points in the paint (60-to-30) and rebounds (55-to-38). Sage's work on the offensive glass was noteworthy as well, as it hauled in 24 offensive boards, which resulted in 28 second-chance points.

Leading the way in the post was 6-foot-7-inch junior Kevin Lenehan and 6-foot-4-inch freshman Fethener Aime, who paced all scorers with 19 and 16 points, respectively. Henry Cuffee '19 and Jesse Adelson '20 led the Soaring Eagles with 10 points apiece. Justin Porrett '19 scored eight points and handed out a game-high eight assists.

Turnovers plagued the Soaring Eagles in the first half, as EC coughed up the ball nine times, which led to 14 first-half points off of turnovers for the Gators. In less than a minute, Elmira committed a trio of turnovers on three straight possessions. That allowed Sage to turn a narrow 5-4 lead into a 12-4 cushion.

Elmira recovered from the early deficit to come within three points of the Sage lead on several occasions, beginning with a 5-0 run that was sparked by a Hayden Harkins '18 3-pointer. The mini rally capped off a 9-3 spurt by the Soaring Eagles that made it a 16-13 score in favor of the Gators. Back-to-back lay-ups from Kyle McCreery '20 then had EC within three points, 20-17, but Lenehan helped Sage push the lead back to a more comfortable distance before halftime. The junior transfer netted 10 points in the final six-plus minutes of the first half, giving the Gators a 45-37 lead at the break.

Lenehan converted an and-one early in the second half to stretch the lead to double digits for Sage, 52-41, but Elmira once again clawed its way back into the contest. The Purple and Gold held the Gators scoreless over the next four minutes, scoring seven unanswered points in the span to make it a four-point game. Cuffee and McCreery sandwiched buckets around a 3-point field goal off the hands of Adelson and EC made it a 52-48 game.

Alas, Sage erased any thoughts of an Elmira comeback by tallying the next 11 points. The Soaring Eagles didn't help their cause; down 65-50 EC missed eight consecutive field goals in a four-and-a-half minute stretch, allowing the Gators to push the lead to 22 points, 79-57. In the final 10 minutes of regulation, the Soaring Eagles managed to shoot just 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from the field, this after converting at a 45.5 percent clip (15-of-33) in the first half.

News and Notes

• Elmira fell to 2-10 overall and has opened Empire 8 play 0-3.
• Sage evened its overall record at 5-5 and its league mark at 1-1.
• The Soaring Eagles surrendered 55 total rebounds and 24 offensive boards, the most by the opposition in a game this season.
• Cuffee reached double figures for the 10th time in 12 games in his junior campaign.
• Adelson scored double-digit points for the seventh time this season.
• With two 3-pointers against the Gators, Adelson has a career-high 23 treys in his sophomore season.
• With eight assists on Saturday, Porrett moved into eighth-place all-time in program history with 295 career dimes, surpassing Derrick Vogel '14 (290).

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will continue their three-game road trip on Tuesday, January 9, when the EC men trek to Houghton, New York, to face the Houghton College Highlanders. The E8 contest is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start.