ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Despite another outstanding performance by second-year forward Rashaad Nurse '22, the Elmira College men's basketball team was unable to take down St. John Fisher College on the road, as the Soaring Eagles fell 78-61 to their Empire 8 Conference foe on Friday.

Nurse paced Elmira's (1-16, 0-6 E8) offense with a career-high 20-point performance to go along with a team-high nine rebounds. The Queens, New York, native finished the night 8-for-10 from the field and 4-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also logged a career-high four steals to go along with a block.

Seniors Kyle McCreery '20 and Jesse Adelson '20 provided an offensive spark from the bench, as the duo combined for 20 points. McCreery was 4-for-9 from the field, including a 3-for-6 mark from 3-point range, for 11 points, in addition to four boards. Adelson did all of his damage from the free-throw line with a 9-for-12 showing. He also aided EC's efforts on the glass with four rebounds.

For the Cardinals (10-6, 5-0 E8), they relied on a trio of players to provide the offense. Sammy Robinson, Matt Asenjo and Sean Williams combined for 49 points. Robinson led the pack with 19 points.

Fisher raced out of the starting gates with the hot hand, opening up a 10-point lead in the first 5:15. But the Soaring Eagles followed with a strong counterattack sparked by Nurse. The second-year forward netted a game-high 15 points in the first half alone, and led all players at the break with five boards and three steals.

With St. John Fisher ahead 12-2, Nurse produced nine of Elmira's next 11 points. After Louden Porter momentarily paused EC's rally with a trey, the Soaring Eagles picked right up where they left off with another field goal from Nurse on the ensuing possession. Those two points were the first of 12 unanswered, as EC turned a 19-11 deficit into a 23-19 lead. And it was Nurse who poured in the go-ahead points at the 6:50 mark of the half. At the break, Nurse and the Soaring Eagles clung to a one-point lead, 29-28.

It was a tale of two halves, however, as the host Cardinals' adjustments during the intermission proved effective. After logging a 39.3 field-goal percentage in the first 20 minutes, Fisher ended by converted at a 60.6% (20-of-33) clip in the second half, as compared to a rate of 44.0% (11-of-25) by Elmira.

News and Notes

• Elmira was 21-of-44 (47.7 %) from the field and 15-of-20 (75.0%) from the free-throw line.
• Elmira's bench outscored Fisher's, 29-12.
• EC won the battle on the boards, 31-29.
• Fisher forced 22 EC turnovers and committed just 12 itself.
• Nurse produced a career-high 20 points.
• Nurse has logged double-digit points in seven consecutive games.
• Kyle Kokoskie '22 finished with a game-high four assists.

Up Next
Elmira's Rochester road trip continues on Saturday, January 25, as the Soaring Eagles will make the short trip down East Avenue to the campus of Nazareth College for a 2:00 p.m. tilt with the Golden Flyers.