ALBANY, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's basketball team picked up its first Empire 8 Conference victory of the season under first-year head coach Casey McGraw on Saturday, defeating the Gators from the Russell Sage College, 60-46. 

Raashad Nurse '22 paced the Soaring Eagles, as the senior posted a 12 rebound, eight-point effort in just the first half before finishing the contest with a 15 points and 11 rebounds. Quintel Clements '22 also paced the Soaring Eagles with a double-double of his own (10 pts, 10 reb) while Bryan Adams '25 scored 20 points. 

JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Sage, New York | Kahl Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 60, Russel Sage: 46
Records: Elmira: (3-11, 1-4 Empire 8), Sage (9-9, 3-4 Empire 8) 

HOW IT HAPPENED:
Adams would get the offense going right away as off a Gators turnover in the opening seconds, took the ball back, and slammed it home for the Soaring Eagles. Immediately, Sage would use a 9-0 run over the next four minutes of play to take a commanding seven-point lead in the early going. 

It would take the Soaring Eagles just four minutes to erase the deficit, as Elmira tied the game at 13-13 after a layup from Harry Ravitz '23 nearing the midway point in the opening half. 

From there, it was all Elmira as the Soaring Eagles posted one of its best defensive stands of the season. Over the final ten minutes of the half, Elmira held Sage to just one point as part of an 18-1 run which gave Elmira a 31-14 lead heading into the break. 

In the opening half, the Gators were held to just 19.4% from the floor while Elmira was able to eclipse 35.0% in the half. 

During the first ten minutes of the second half, the Gators were able to outscore the Soaring Eagles by just four points (17-13), while Adams increased his scoring to 14 points. As the game continued, the Gators floated within the 10-15 point deficit range for most of the final ten minutes, with EC eventually grabbing the victory at 60-46. 

Rebounding on the defensive end proved to be the story for the Soaring Eagles, as Nurse & Quintel Clements '22 were able to pull in a combined 25, led by Nurse with 15. 

For the game, Elmira outshot the Gators from the floor, converting on 23-of-66 attempts (34.8%). Sage was able to find the bottom of the barrel on just 15 shots, for a 24.2% effort from the floor. 
 

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the court on Tuesday as they play host to the Wolves from Keuke College inside Speidel Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM