ELMIRA, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team rebounded from a lackluster first half to put a scare into the defending Empire 8 Conference Tournament champions, but St. John Fisher College secured a 73-62 win on Friday inside Speidel Gymnasium.

At the halftime break, the Cardinals (2-0, 2-0 E8) appeared to be well on their way to a decisive victory with a 40-22 lead. However, the Soaring Eagles (0-2, 0-2 E8) nearly doubled their field-goal percentage from the opening 20 minutes by shooting 44.1% (15-of-34) in the second half. The EC defense pitched in and forced 14 second-half turnovers, which resulted in 23 points off turnovers for Elmira on the other end of the court.

Harry Ravitz '23 and Shawn Backus '21 each netted a team-high 16 points. Ravitz, a sophomore guard from Pelham, New York, proved to be a catalyst for the second-half rally, as he logged all of his points after the intermission. Three of his steals in the second half led directly to points, too, including a coast-to-coast layup approximately four minutes into the period that reduced the Fisher advantage to 14 points, 45-31.

Those two points were the start of an 18-4 run that brought the Soaring Eagles within one possession of the SJFC lead, 49-47. Ravitz went on a scoring spree of his own during the rally with eight consecutive points, highlighted by his only 3-point make of the night.

Up by six points, 63-57, with 2:36 to play, the Cardinals quickly put the two-possession lead out of reach. A shot swatted down by Fisher's Brendan Trapper and a steal by Sean Williams on back-to-back possessions turned into four points in a span of 16 seconds and pushed their lead back to double digits at 67-57.

News and Notes

• Elmira recorded 11 steals against Fisher on Friday after logging just one in the season opener at Nazareth.
• The Soaring Eagles were 21-of-61 (34.4%) from the field for the game but were much more efficient in the second half at 44.1% (15-of-34).
• EC had more steals (11-to-6), fewer turnovers (18-to-11), and outperformed Fisher from the foul line (68.0%-to-52.4%).
• Ravitz reached double-digits for the third time in his career with 16 against the Cardinals.
• The second-year guard also had a game-high four steals.
• Backus posted 16 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes off of the bench.
• Isiah Charles '21 finished with eight boards and five rebounds.
• Big men Brendan Hyde '22 and Rashaad Nurse '22 posted seven and six points, respectively.

Up Next
The next game on Elmira's schedule is on Tuesday, March 9, when the Soaring Eagles host the Highlanders of Houghton College at 7:00 p.m.