AURORA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's basketball team pulled out victory in its season-opener on Monday evening at Wells, 101-96. After growing its lead to as many as 19 in the opening half, the Soaring Eagles would see its lead diminished at the midway point of the second half before using a late run, which included seven consecutive points from Tyler Cardello '26 over a two minute stretch as Elmira would eventually take the victory. 

Elmira, which used a 50.0% clip from beyond the arc (11-of-22), were led largely by the sophomore trio of Riley Spencer '26, JJ Babcock '26, and Cardello, who combined for 65 of Elmira's points on the night. 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 101, Wells 96
LOCATION: Aurora, New York | Farenthold Athletic Wing
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (1-0, 0-0 Empire 8), Wells (0-2, 0-0 AMCC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Soaring Eagles and Express would come out and battle in a first half which featured high levels of offense from both sides. After Spencer opened the season with a three-pointer for Elmira, the Soaring Eagles would find themselves trailing for the next five minutes of play until yet another three-ball from the sophomore guard. With 13:29 remaining in the opening frame, the Soaring Eagles would get a layup from Dylan Jacob '24, and would not look back as they controlled the lead for the remainder of the first half. 
• After growing its lead to as many as 19 points, the Soaring Eagles would carry a 14-point lead (61-47) into the locker room. 
• In the opening half, the Soaring Eagles would get a team-best 16 points from Spencer, which included 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. Additionally, Cardello would chip in 15 points to go along with a trio of rebounds. 
• As a team, Elmira would shoot 65.7% from the floor (23-of-35) including an 8-for-13 effort from beyond the arc.
• In the second half, the Express would use the first 9:48 seconds to erase its 14-point deficit, as they outscored the Soaring Eagles 32-18. The Express would get the majority of its offense from the duo of Terrance Clayton-Murphy and Chase Welch, who combined for 50 points through the first 35 minutes of the contest. 
• The Express would last hold the lead with 3:52 remaining in the second half following a made jumper from Evan Hauser to put Wells ahead 92-90. Over the final nearly four minutes of play, the Soaring Eagles would use a 11-4 run, which included seven straight points from Cardello to put Elmira ahead by three, which forced the Express into foul-mode where Spencer and Carter Seeberger '26 sealed the deal with a 4-for-4 effort down the stretch as Elmira went on to take the victory, 101-96. 
• For the game, the Soaring Eagles would shoot 54.5% from the floor compared to 49.3% for the Express. Additionally, Elmira led the second-chance points battle 27-18 largely due to 14 offensive rebounds, while using an 11-of-22 effort from beyond the arc. 

TOP PERFORMERS:
Riley Spencer '26 - 23 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Tyler Cardello '26 - 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
JJ Babcock '26 - 19 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 assists

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold will return to the floor on Thursday for its home-opener against the Fighting Tigers from SUNY Cobleskill. Tip-off for Elmira's Code Purple contest is set for 7:00 PM inside Speidel Gymnasium.