Elmira vs. Utica
Game Details	Saturday, Feb. 10 | Elmira, N.Y. | 2:00 p.m.
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ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team battles Utica College on Saturday, February 10, in Empire 8 Action at Speidel Gymnasium. The bout, which is slated to begin at 2:00 p.m., will serve as EC's Class of 2018 Recognition Day.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Soaring Eagles were defeated by Nazareth College on the road in Rochester, New York, on Thursday night by a 105-82 final score. EC and Naz played a competitive first half and the Golden Flyers led by only eight points, 39-31, heading into the halftime break. In the second half, however, Nazareth was lights-out from the floor, as it logged a 72.4 field-goal percentage and a 71.3 3-point field-goal percentage. That helped the Golden Flyers extend their lead to double-figures and put the game out of Elmira's reach early in the period. Despite the loss, senior forward Hayden Harkins '18 rekindled his magic from beyond the arc by making 6-of-8 3-pointers en route to a game-high 23 points. Junior forward Henry Cuffee '19 and sophomore guard Jeremy Every '20 also scored double-digit points with 16 and 11, respectively. Every, one of the top free-throw shooters in the Empire 8 Conference, finished a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe against the Golden Flyers.
 
CLASS OF 2018
Elmira will honor its three seniors today, as part of Class of 2018 Recognition Day. We thank Harkins, Connor Bays '18 and Paul Bischoff '18 for all of their dedication to the program over the years.
 
AERIAL ASSAULT
Harkins bounced back from an untimely mid-season slump in a big way on Thursday night against Nazareth. The senior sharpshooter posted single-game season-highs with a 77.8 field-goal percentage (7-for-9) and a 75.0 3-point field-goal percentage (6-for-8) against the Golden Flyers. His game-high 23 points marked his first double-digit outing since he netted 17 against St. John Fisher College on January 4, while his six 3-pointers are the most he's drained since he established a new program-record with 11 treys in a victory over St. Lawrence University on December 16. On the year, Harkins has buried multiple 3-pointers in 11 of his 18 appearances, and with 64 makes from downtown, he needs just two more to tie Shawn Blakeslee '00 (66) for 10th place on the all-time single-season leaderboard.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Utica leads the all-time series against Elmira, 38-25. EC last beat the Pioneers on January 9, 2015, with a 75-64 victory at Speidel Gymnasium.
 
SCOUTING UTICA
Winners of three consecutive games, the Pioneers have pushed themselves into contention for a berth in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament. Utica heads into Saturday's matchup against Elmira with a 13-9 overall record and sits in a three-way tie with Alfred University and St. John Fisher for third place in the league with eight conference wins. On Thursday night, the Pioneers fended off a late second-half run by Hartwick College and topped the Hawks, 68-64. Utica ranks eighth in the nine-team conference in points per game with 72.0, but last time out against the Soaring Eagles on January 13, the Pioneers picked up their second-highest point total of the year in a 93-77 victory. On the other hand, the team allows an E8-low 71.8 points per game to the opposition and ranks third in rebounding margin (plus-3.7), thanks in large part to the play of standout forward Ivan Iton. Iton is ninth in the circuit in scoring (15.0 ppg) but leads all players with 9.2 rebounds per game, a 60.5 field-goal percentage and 2.0 blocks per game. One of his nine double-doubles was recorded in the previous win over EC, as Iton scored a career-high 34 points with 13 boards to lead the Pioneers to victory.
 
UP NEXT
Elmira will visit St. John Fisher on Tuesday, February 13, for a 6:00 p.m. E8 bout.