WESTMINSTER, Md. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team was unable to bounce back from a slow start in Sunday afternoon's bout, as the Soaring Eagles dropped a 65-54 decision on the road to McDaniel College. With the loss, Elmira remains in search of its first win of the season at 0-7, while the Green Terror of McDaniel evened their record at 4-4 on the year.
Elmira went 21-for-50 (42.0%) from the field, while McDaniel went 23-for-51 (45.1%). The bulk of Elmira's shooting came inside the arc, as the Soaring Eagles attempted their fewest attempts from 3-point range this season with a 2-for-6 (33.3%) showing. McDaniel, which averaged 20.8 attempts from 3-point range this season, went 5-for-17 (29.4%) from the arc.
At the free-throw line, Elmira was 10-for-14 (71.4%) and McDaniel was 14-for-19 (73.7%). On the glass, Elmira held a slim 33-32 advantage. However, the key stat from today's game was turnovers. Elmira committed 18 turnovers, compared to McDaniel's 13 giveaways. Despite the five turnover difference, both teams produced 17 points off of turnovers.
Shawn Backus '21 paced the Elmira offense with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting, which included a 1-for-1 mark from 3-point range. Backus also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and distributed one assist.
Jesse Adelson '20,
Harry Ravitz '23 and
Kyle McCreery '20 chipped in seven points apiece. Adelson was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe, while Ravitz and McCreery combined to shoot 6-for-9 (66.7%) from the field.
In the first half, neither team was able to get into a rhythm on offense, as McDaniel led by three points, 9-6, at the 14:31 mark. However, the Green Terror pieced together a trio of runs that helped create separation in the opening half. The two runs that did the most damage occurred with under nine minutes to play.
McDaniel produced a 15-7 run in the final 8:29 of regulation, but the key part in that run was a 10-1 run in the final six minutes. During that six-minute span, Elmira went 0-for-7 from the field and turned the ball over three times.
McDaniel's lead ballooned to 18 points, 40-22, at the 14:31 mark of the second half. However, Elmira worked hard to claw its way back into the contest and trim the Green Terror lead down to single digits for the first time since early in the first half.
Over a 5:33 span, the Soaring Eagles slowly but surely cut away at the deficit and brought McDaniel's lead to just nine points, 44-35, with 8:58 left in regulation. During that run, Backus produced five of his team-high 14 points on a pair of makes from the charity stripe and a 3-point bucket. Other point scorers included
Brendan Hyde '22 (4), McCreery (2) and Ravitz (2).
From there, Elmira trimmed the McDaniel lead down to eight points on a handful of occasions, but that was as close as it would get, as the Green Terror held on down the stretch for a 65-54 victory.
News and Notes
- Elmira's six 3-point attempts were its fewest of the 2019-20 campaign.
- EC out-rebounded its opponent for a fourth time this season.
- It marked the second time this year EC has shot over 70% from the free-throw line.
- The 18 turnovers committed by Elmira tied its season high.
- Backus logged his fifth game with double-digit points.
- Backus finished with team highs in points (14) and rebounds (6).
Up Next
The Elmira men return to action on Sunday, December 29, when they take on Wittenberg in the opening-round game of the 2019 Kiwanis Holiday Classic in Springfield, Ohio. The opening tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
