Score: Nazareth College 105, Elmira College 82
Records: Nazareth (17-6, 12-2 E8), Elmira (3-18, 1-11 E8)
Location: Kidera Gymnasium -- Rochester, N.Y.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- First-place Nazareth College outpaced the visiting Elmira College Soaring Eagles en route to a 105-82 Empire 8 Conference victory on its home court at the Kidera Gymnasium in Rochester, New York, on Thursday evening.

The Golden Flyers compiled a 54.5 field-goal percentage (36-of-66) and a 58.8 3-point field-goal percentage (10-of-17), the latter marking the highest such rate allowed by the EC defense in a game this season. Although just eight points separated the two teams at halftime, 39-31, Naz padded its cushion by converting at a 72.4 clip (21-of-29) from the floor in the second half alone.

While Elmira didn't log an impressive shooting percentage as a whole, senior Hayden Harkins '18 shook off a recent slump by netting six 3-pointers and a game-high 23 points. Harkins posted season-highs with a 77.8 field-goal percentage (7-of-9) and rate of 75.0 percent (6-of-8) from beyond the arc. The Tampa, Florida, native inched his way a little closer to moving into second-place all-time in program history for career treys, as he sits just seven shy of Ryan Bennett '01 (249) with 242 made 3-pointers in his four seasons donning the Purple and Gold.

Junior forward Henry Cuffee '19 and sophomore guard Jeremy Every '20 also amassed double-digit points for EC. Cuffee scored 16 points in addition to collecting game-highs in rebounds (7) and blocks (4). Every, who went a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, scored 11 points.

Nazareth, which was tabbed sixth in the East Region in the first edition of the NCAA Division III Regional Rankings and leads the E8 with a 12-2 conference record, received double-digit contributions from five different players. Cody Green tied Harkins with a game-high six 3-pointers and led the Golden Flyers with 20 points off of the bench.
 
News and Notes

• Elmira falls to 3-18 overall and 1-11 in Empire 8 action.
• The Soaring Eagles posted a season-best 87.0 free-throw percentage against Naz (20-of-23).
• EC's five blocks were a season-high, while Cuffee tied his season-high with four rejections.
• For the 19th time in 21 games this year, Cuffee scored in double-figures.
• Harkins' 23 points are the most for the fourth-year forward since he amassed 33 against St. Lawrence on December 16, 2017, the night he set a program record with 11 treys.
• Harkins (64) needs two more 3-pointers to tie Shawn Blakeslee '00 (66) for 10th place on Elmira's single-season leaderboard.
• With eight more treys, Harkins (242) would take sole possession of second-place all-time in program history.

Up Next
The Soaring Eagles will return to Speidel Gymnasium on Saturday, February 10, for a league bout against the Utica College Pioneers at 2:00 p.m. EC will also honor the graduating members of the team, as part of Class of 2018 Recognition Day.