ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Four from the Elmira College men's basketball team finished in double figures to help the Soaring Eagles hand Keuka College an 87-75 loss on Pat Thompson '75 Court at Speidel Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.

The win is the first of the season for the Soaring Eagles (1-3, 1-3 E8), who welcomed the Wolves (0-5, 0-5 E8) to the Empire 8 Conference in the first-ever meeting between the two teams as E8 foes.

Although EC led by as many as 12 points in the first half, the turnover bug bit the Soaring Eagles in the final minutes before the break. Employing a full-court press, Keuka forced Elmira to cough up the ball seven times in the last five-and-a-half minutes before the intermission. Two of those turnovers, one being a 10-second violation, resulted in back-to-back 3-pointers by Keuka's Daniel Obunse and Devin Milton. Milton's trey with 4:06 to go reduced the EC lead to a single point, 29-28. Milton converted another turnover into a 3-point field goal with approximately 24 seconds left in the half, putting the Wolves ahead by five, 40-35.

The Soaring Eagles began their comeback in the last 10 seconds of the first period, with Shawn Backus '21 netting four answered points. The half's final play was particularly highlight-worthy, as Elmira inbounded and scored with a mere 1.2 seconds on the clock. Harry Ravitz '23 floated a pass to Backus, the only Soaring Eagle lined up on the offensive side of the court to start the play. The senior forward quickly released a contested step-back jumper near the baseline before the buzzer sounded.

Elmira and Keuka traded leads in the second half, although neither side led by more than two possessions until the last six minutes of regulation. Near the nine-minute mark, Jeff Jung Jr. '23 was fouled on a 3-point try and sunk all three shots from the line to make it a 66-61 advantage in favor of the Purple and Gold. Inside the six-minute mark, Mason Weir '21 drained a floater as the shot clock expired to extend the lead to seven, 69-62.

Ahead 69-64 with five minutes to go, Elmira all but sealed the victory, putting the nail in the coffin with a 10-0 run that featured treys from Ravitz and Isiah Charles '21.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Randie Torgalski on Saturday's conference win over the Wolves...
"We did what we needed to do at the right times today. We got stops, we took care of the ball, and we made shots. I'm proud of the boys, not because we won, but because we stuck together. Everyone has been pushing to get good results, and today, we got good results."

News and Notes

• Elmira improved to 1-3 overall, while Keuka fell to 0-5.
• Saturday's game was EC's best of the season offensively, as the Soaring Eagles logged season-highs in points (87), field-goal percentage (50.0), free-throw percentage (81.3), and assists (14).
• The 50.0 field-goal percentage marked the highest for Elmira since shooting 50.7% in consecutive contests to open the 2018-19 season.
• The Soaring Eagles dominated the boards, outrebounding Keuka 44-to-23.
• Backus' team-high 21 points are the most scored by a Soaring Eagle in a game this spring.
• Rashaad Nurse '22 secured a double-double, the fourth of his career, with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
• Charles (13) and Kokoskie (11) both scored in double figures, with the former shooting 3-of-4 (75.0%) from beyond the arc.
• Weir (9), Jung (8), and Ravitz (8) just missed double-digit points for Elmira.
• Keuka's Milton led all players with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting (75.0%).

Up Next
On Tuesday, March 16, the Soaring Eagles will travel to Houghton, New York, for an E8 matchup against the Highlanders of Houghton College. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.