Score: St. John Fisher College 79, Elmira College 52
Records: St. John Fisher (10-4, 5-0 E8), Elmira (3-9, 1-2 E8)
Location: Speidel Gymnasium – Elmira, N.Y.
 
ELMIRA, N.Y. -- A strong defensive first-half performance by the Elmira College men's basketball team forced the visiting Cardinals of St. John Fisher College to play in a fast-paced game that resulted in a plethora of turnovers and just a one-point halftime lead for the Cards. However, the Soaring Eagles were unable to find their rhythm from the field in the second half, as St. John Fisher created separation and marched away with a 79-52 win at Speidel Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
 
Fisher connected at a 50.0-percent clip from the field on 29-of-58 shooting, while Elmira was just 16-for-68 for a 28.9-percent success rate. Elmira's shooting woes were exacerbated in the second half, as the Purple and Gold were a mere 5-of-30 from the floor in the final 20 minutes of action.
 
Henry Cuffee '19 paced Elmira with a team-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds and a block. Jesse Adelson '20 also finished in double figures, as he logged 11 points, five boards, one assist and two steals. Justin Porrett '19, who was honored pre-game in front of his home crowd for setting EC's career assist record, logged six points, as well as five rebounds, five assists, and one steal.
 
The Cardinals relied heavily on Ryan Henderson, who produced 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including a 7-for-7 mark from the charity stripe. Matt Asenjo was Fisher's only other double-digit scorer with 11 points.

The Soaring Eagles netted the game's first points on one of Adelson's team-best three 3-point field goals. A Porrett layup and a foul shot from Cuffee extended EC's early advantage to 6-2 within the opening three minutes. After Fisher knotted the score at 6-all, Jeremy Every '20 pushed the lead back to three points with a trey of his own.

Down 9-6, the Cardinals overtook Elmira with a 6-0 run, with four of those points coming off the hands of Henderson at the foul line. Although more 3-point highlights from Cuffee and Mason Weir '21 temporarily put EC back on top, St. John Fisher broke a 19-19 tie with a bucket from downtown that gave the Cardinals the edge until the final minute of the first half. 

With under a minute to go, Adelson found his stroke from distance to turn a two-point deficit into a 32-31 lead, but Asenjo's last-second jumper before the break put Fisher ahead for good. In the second half, the visiting Cardinals more than doubled Elmira's offensive output with 46 points, as compared to EC's 20. 
 
News and Notes

• Elmira recognized Porrett before tonight's game for becoming EC's all-time assists leader.
• EC has made 10-or-more free throws in five consecutive games.
• Cuffee has recorded double-digit points in 10-of-12 games this year.
• Adelson logged his fifth double-digit performance of the season.
• Adelson made his 100th career 3-point field goal tonight against the Cardinals.
• Paul Kelleher '22 and Billy Smith '20 made their official season debuts, after appearing in Saturday's exhibition against Columbia University.
• Rashaad Nurse '22 made a single-game season-high three blocks.

 
Up Next
Elmira returns to the hardwood next Friday, January 18, when the Soaring Eagles travel to face the Hawks of Hartwick College in Empire 8 Conference action. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Oneonta, New York.