ELMIRA, N.Y.  – The Elmira College Men's Basketball team battled through the first 30 minutes of play before the Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland used a 17-point advantage over an eight minute stretch to take home a 83-63 victory. The Soaring Eagles were led by Bryan Adams '25 who finished the game with 22 points, four assists, and three rebounds. Dylan Jacob '24 added 13 points to the ledger while Harry Ravitz '23 pulled down 11 rebounds with eight points on the afternoon.

JUST THE BASICS 
Location: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 63, SUNY Cortland: 83
Records: Elmira: (0-4, 0-0 Empire 8), SUNY Cortland (2-2, 0-0 SUNYAC) 

HOW IT HAPPENED :
The Soaring Eagles played their best half of the season in the opening frame against the Red Dragons on Saturday. After leading by as many as six in the first half, Elmira surrendered the lead back to Cortland, who held its largest lead of the half at the 8:05 mark when leading by eight.
 
With just over three minutes remaining in the opening half and Elmira trailing by seven, the home squad put together a 7-2 run to conclude the half and head into the break down just a pair, 33-31. In the first half, the Soaring Eagles shot 35.3% (12-of-34) compared to 35.1% for the Red Dragons on 13-of-37 shooting. Adams led all scorers at the half with ten, with Raashad Nurse '22 contributing seven points and seven rebounds.
 
In the second half, the Soaring Eagles were unable to regain the lead, but tied the game at 46-46 with 14:23 remaining in the game on a three pointer from Adams, who knocked down six on the afternoon. From there, the tempo and momentum belonged to the Red Dragons, who went on to outscore Elmira 37-17 the rest of the way and take home an 83-63 victory.
 
The Soaring Eagles finished the game shooting 36.9% from the floor, while the Red Dragons used a 48.5% second half from the floor to finish the game just over 40%. The Soaring Eagles were able to lead the charge in points off turnovers, forcing ten Red Dragon turnovers for 14 points.

ELMIRA LEADERS (24-of-65, 36.9 percent from the field) 
Bryan Adams –22 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
Dylan Jacob - 13 points, 2 assists
Rashaad Nurse  - 9 points, 9 rebounds
Harry Ravitz – 8 points, 11 rebounds

CORTLAND LEADERS (29-of-70, 41.4 percent from the field)  
Kareem Lubin– 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists
Eric Edwards – 22 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles head to Hamburg, New York on Tuesday for a matchup with the Hawks from Hilbert College before the holiday break. Tip is set for 7:30 PM.