LINCOLN, Neb. – Elmira College men's basketball made the trip down to the Cornhusker State for the Snyder Classic, where they faced off against the Prairie Wolves of Nebraska Wesleyan on Friday evening. Despite a 21-point effort from Riley Spencer '26, the Soaring Eagles could not keep pace with the Prairie Wolves and fell by a final of 101-72.

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 72, Nebraska Wesleyan 101
LOCATION: Lincoln, Nebraska | Snyder Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (1-3, 0-0 E8), Nebraska Wesleyan (3-1, 0-1 ARC)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The game started competitively between the two teams, with six lead changes in the first three minutes. Spencer hit three three-pointers in that stretch, giving the Soaring Eagles a 10-9 lead with two minutes played.
• Elmira kept things close for the first nine minutes, bringing the deficit down to four with 12:42 left in the first half on a JJ Babcock '26 putback, with Nebraska Wesleyan leading 26-22. However, the Prairie Wolves would outscore the Soaring Eagles 27-12 for the remainder of the half and take a 53-34 lead into the break.
• From there, the hosts controlled the game, beginning the second half on a 30-8 run in the first 10 minutes.
• After that, Elmira found some offensive footing, aided by three three-pointers by Owen Evans '26. However, in the end, the deficit was too significant, and Nebraska Wesleyan claimed the 101-72 victory in Elmira's first match of the classic.

TOP PERFORMERS:
Riley Spencer '26 - 21 points, 3 rebounds, 3/6 3pt
Tyler Cardello '26 - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals
JJ Babcock '26 - 4 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles wrap up their trip to the Midwest on Saturday when they take on the Beavers of Buena Vista University at 4:00 p.m. EST.