ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Elmira College Men's Basketball team dropped their opening round matchup to the Comets of Olivet College on Saturday afternoon, 95-81. After playing back-and-forth basketball for the first 20 minutes, the Comets pulled away using a 55-43 second half advantage to secure victory on day one of the Holiday Inn Downtown Rochester Tournament
JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Rochester, New York | Louis Alexander Palestra
Score: Elmira: 81, Olivet: 95
Records: Elmira: (1-5, 0-0 Empire 8), Olivet (2-1, 0-0 MIAA)
HOW IT HAPPENED :
The Soaring Eagles battled and showed high efficiency through the first four minutes of play, leading 10-5 at the 16:10 mark in the opening half. Over the next six minutes of play, the Soaring Eagles and Comets would share three ties and four lead changes.
Trailing 23-20, Elmira would produce a 9-0 run over a two-minute span and regain the lead at 29-23. The Comets would eventually rally back for a 17-9 run to close out the half, leading 40-38 at the break.
In the second half, the Purple & Gold would last hold the lead at 49-46 before the Comets rallied to a double-digit lead at the 6:54 mark. From there, EC would pull to as close as seven points, but a 61.2% shooting clip in the second half propelled Olivet to a 95-81 victory.
As a team, Elmira had four individuals (Rashaad Nurse '22, Harry Ravitz '23, David Kruis '23, and Bryan Adams '25 all reach double figures for the game. Nurse led the charge with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 6-of-11 shooting.
ELMIRA LEADERS (28-of-71, 39.4 percent from the field)
Rashaad Nurse - 19 points, 8 rebounds
Bryan Adams –14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Harry Ravitz - 10 points, 6 rebounds
David Kruis - 12 points, 3 rebounds
OLIVET LEADERS (33-of-65, 50.8 percent from the field)
Derrick Johnson– 19 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists
Eddie Thigpen – 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
Lorris Upshaw - 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the floor tomorrow afternoon when they take on Stockton in the consolation round of the Holiday Inn Downtown Rochester Tournament. The Osprey fell to the Tournament hosts, U of R in the opening round on Saturday
