WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Elmira College Men's Basketball team dropped its season-opener on Tuesday evening to the Wildcats from Penn College, 83-69. A game in which the Soaring Eagles struggled from the floor, which included a 7-of-34 clip from beyond the three point line, Bryan Adams '25 led the Soaring Eagles with 22 points.
JUST THE BASICS:
Location: Williamsport, Pennsylvania | Bardo Gymnasium
Score: Elmira: 65, Penn College: 83
Records: Elmira: (0-1, 0-0 E8), Penn College (1-0, 0-0 NEAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Soaring Eagles found themselves in an early ten point deficit while receiving eight points in the early going from sophomore Bryan Adams '25. Trailing 20-10, the Soaring Eagles shot just 33.3% from the floor in the opening nine minutes of play compared to 66.7% for the Wildcats.
Trailing by 14 with under eight minutes remaining in the frame, Harry Ravitz '23 was able to score off a missed bucket before Adams was able to record a steal which led to a fastbreak dunk, trimming the Soaring Eagle deficit to ten.
The Wildcats continued to stay proficient from deep, knocking down 5-of-9 from beyond the arc in the first 19 minutes of play compared to 4-of-17 for EC. Off the bench, Connor Olcott '26 and Owen Evans '26 knocked down a pair of threes to cut the Penn Tech lead to 13.
From there, PTC would score five unanswered points to end the frame, with the Soaring Eagles headed to the locker room down 18. In the frame, the Purple & Gold shot 34.3% compared to 68.0% for the Wildcats. At the break, Adams led Elmira with 10 points.
In the second, the Soaring Eagles trimmed the Penn Tech lead to 15 points at the 13:34 mark, but a 11 point advantage over the next four minutes for the Wildcats allowed the home team to regain an advantage with its biggest lead of the evening, 64-38.
The Wildcats would go on to take the game by a final score of 83-65, with the Soaring Eagles shot 24.2% from the floor in the second half compared to 29.3% for PTC. EC struggled from deep in the contest, shooting just 7-of-34.
ELMIRA LEADERS (20-of-68, 29.4 percent from the field)
Bryan Adams - 22 points, 2 rebounds
Riley Spencer '26 - 11 points, 2 rebounds
PENN COLLEGE LEADERS (29-of-64, 45.3 percent from the field)
Gavin Barrett - 14 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists
Will Sulexy – 8 points, 10 rebounds
Ovens Luxama – 19 points
UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the court on Friday evening when they host the Alumni Classic inside Speidel Gymnasium. The two-day event will feature Penn State Berks, Bard, Cazenovia, and the Soaring Eagles. EC plays Bard on Friday at 7:30 before taking on Cazenovia on Saturday at 3:30 PM.
