ALBANY, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team finished a busy weekend of Empire 8 Conference play in Albany, New York, against The Sage Colleges, who picked up a 90-47 victory over the Soaring Eagles on Saturday afternoon.

Feeling the effects of playing twice in as many days, the Soaring Eagles (1-12, 0-3 E8) got off to a slow start and were unable to recover. Elmira mustered a 22.6 field-goal percentage on 7-of-31 shooting in the opening half and entered the intermission down 36-16. Although the Purple and Gold nearly doubled their production in the second half, it wasn't enough to slow down the host Gators (9-5, 2-1 E8).

Second-year forward Rashaad Nurse '22 led all Soaring Eagles with 10 points, as the Queens, New York, native reached double figures for a third consecutive game. Nurse also collected three rebounds, two blocks, one steal and one assist.

Shawn Backus '21, Harry Ravitz '23 and Jeff Jung Jr. '23 all netted eight points for EC. Half of Backus' points came from the foul line, as the junior converted all four of his attempts. For rookies Ravitz and Jung, the eight points marked new single-game season-highs. The former also posted six rebounds, while the latter managed to score all of his points in just seven minutes off of the bench.

In his first start of the season, Joseph Amoddio '21 tied a season-high with seven points while helping the Soaring Eagles surpass the Gators on the glass with six rebounds.

News and Notes

• Elmira out-rebounded the Gators, 43-to-41, thanks to a 20-to-13 advantage in offensive boards.
• Brendan Hyde '22 led all Soaring Eagles with seven rebounds, including a team-best five offensive rebounds.
• Nurse was the only Soaring Eagle to score double-digit points with 10.
• Nurse has reached double figures in three consecutive games, the longest such streak of his career.
• Freshmen Ravitz and Jung each scored a season-high eight points off of the bench.
• In his first start as a junior, Amoddio saw a season-high 20 minutes of playing time.
• Amoddio shot 2-for-4 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the line en route to a season-high-tying seven points.

Up Next
Elmira will take a break from Empire 8 action on Monday, January 13, when the Soaring Eagles make the short trip to Ithaca, New York, for an exhibition against Cornell University. It marks the third year in a row that EC has faced a Division I program. Tip-off with the Big Red inside Newman Arena at Bartels Hall is set for 6:00 p.m.