COBLESKILL, N.Y. – The Elmira College Men's Basketball Team was unable to hold onto its first half lead on Tuesday evening, falling to the Fighting Tigers from SUNY Cobleskill 81-74 in front of a raucous crowd inside of Iorio Gymnasium. The Soaring Eagles and the Tigers battled back-and-forth in a game that featured 14 ties and 11 lead changes overall.
Additionally, the Soaring Eagles were able to outscore the Fighting Tigers 16-3 in second chance points to go along with its 14-6 advantage on the offensive glass.
The Soaring Eagles were paced by Quintel Clements '22 and Bryan Adams '25 who each scored 19 points a piece. Clements grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with his points for his second double-double of the season.
JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Cobleskill, New York | Iorio Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 74, Cobleskill: 81
Records: Elmira: (0-4, 0-0 E8), SUNY Cobleskill (3-1, 0-0 NAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Fighting Tigers would score the first bucket of the game after Shelvon Grant found the bottom of the basket just 45 seconds into the game. Elmira would get its first points of the evening on a made bucket from Marc Anthony Artuz '24, who made his first start of the season on Tuesday. From there, Cobleskill would rely heavily on Justin Feldman over the next few minutes of play, as the guard made a trio of three-pointers over the next four minutes of play to give the home team an early 11-8 advantage just five minutes into the game.
From there, with the Fighting Tigers leading 14-10, Elmira would spark a 5-0 run in which Bryan Adams '25 scored three points before Riley Spencer '26 made a pull up jumper, assisted by Dylan Jacob '24 to put EC ahead at the midway point in the frame. After Cobleskill scored the next five points to retake the lead, the teams would battle back-and-forth over the final nine minutes in the opening half, which saw EC erase a six-point deficit on baskets from Adams, Clements, and Artuz. Clements would finish the half by giving the Purple & Gold the lead with a made layup with just 24 seconds remaining to give him a team-high 11 points at the break.
In the half, Elmira shot 15-of-40 from the floor (37.5%) compared to 41.9% for the Tigers. The Soaring Eagles controlled the offensive boards in the frame, out-rebounding the home squad 11-4 on offense with the frame featuring five ties and four lead changes.
The Elmira lead of two points continued through the first six minutes of the second half, with the lead swapping hands nearly each possession. After a Tyler Cardello '26 layup put the Soaring Eagles ahead 44-42, the Fighting Tigers were able to convert on an and-one chance before Riley Spencer '26 converted from deep to put the Purple & Gold back out in front.
Down the stretch, the Fighting Tigers would regain, then extend its lead to six points at the 3:35 mark following a 9-3 run from the 6:57 to 4:02 marks. From there, Adams and Clements both converted from inside the paint on Elmira's next two possessions, trimming its deficit to just a pair with 2:34 remaining.
With the deficit remaining the same with under a minute remaining, the Soaring Eagles would be forced to foul the Tigers, where they were able to convert on its opportunities to take the win.
ELMIRA LEADERS (31-of-66, 47.0 percent from the field)
Quintel Clements - 19 points, 10 rebounds
Bryan Adams - 19 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Riley Spencer - 10 points
COBLESKILL LEADERS (26-of-55, 47.3 percent from the field)
Justin Feldman - 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Andre Starks - 18 rebounds, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the court a week from today when hosting the Hawks from Hilbert College. Tipoff inside Speidel Gymnasium is set for 7:00 PM on November 22.
