ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College men's basketball dropped its home-opener on Thursday night to the visiting Fighting Tigers from SUNY Cobleskill 98-86. After a first half that saw the Tigers outscore EC 38-27, the game would be more narrowly played in the second, with Cobleskill holding the advantage, 60-59 in a highly-offensive frame. 

For the game, the Soaring Eagles were led by Tyler Cardello '26, who finished the game with 24 points and eight rebounds despite foul trouble for the majority of the second half. JJ Babcock '26 would follow closely with 20 points and eight rebounds, while Riley Spencer '26 and Aidan Carnevale '27 each scored 11 points in the loss.

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 86, SUNY Cobleskill 98
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (1-1, 0-0 Empire 8), Cobleskill (3-1, 0-0 NAC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Soaring Eagles and Tigers would be knotted at 14 through the first ten minutes of play which saw similar shooting percentages, and lack of success early from beyond the arc. The Tigers would eventually finish the half 1-of-8 from beyond the arc, with the Soaring Eagles going 0-of-9. 
• With the game tied at 16-16 at the 10:20 mark, the Tigers would use a 10-0 run over the next three minutes of play which would ultimately be the difference in the contest. For the remainder of the half, Elmira would trim the Tiger lead to as little as eight, while Cobleskill grew it to as many as 13 before carrying a 38-27 lead into the break. 
• In the first half, the Soaring Eagles would finish just 5-of-10 from the free throw line, compared to 7-of-10 for Cobleskill.
• Coming out of the break, the Tigers would find themselves in the bonus just seven and a half minutes into the frame, allowing for the Tigers to post a 21-of-23 effort from the line for the half. Elmira, who was able to trim its deficit down to as little as eight in the frame, would eventually fall 98-86.
• For the game, the Soaring Eagles would lead the turnover battle 14-13, while outscoring the Tigers 10-9 on second chance points due largely to a 21-9 advantage in offensive rebounds. 

TOP PERFORMERS:
Tyler Cardello '26 - 24 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists
JJ Babcock '26 - 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Aidan Carnevale '27 - 11 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

UP NEXT:
The Purple & Gold will hit the floor on Saturday, as they travel to Alfred State to take on the Pioneers. Tip is set for 2:00 PM/