ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Men's Basketball team would use a strong second half on Saturday afternoon to pull its deficit within three, but late success from the free throw line from Keuka would be enough as they went on to defeat Elmira 70-65. The Soaring Eagles, who found themselves down as much as 18 points in the first half, would outscore Keula 36-32 in the second half, as four finished in double-figures for the contest. 

Tyler Cardello '26 would pace Elmira on the offensive side, scoring 19 points while collecting 13 rebounds. Cardello finished his evening going 10-of-11 from the free throw line. Additionally, Carter Seeberger '26, Marc Anthony Artuz '24, and JJ Babcock '26 each finished in double figures, scoring 13, 12, and 10 points, respectively. 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 65, Keuka 70
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (7-10, 3-5 Empire 8), Keuka (6-8, 4-3 Empire 8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The teams would battle for the first five minutes of the game, as offensive rebounds for both teams were able to extend possessions. With the score tied at 6-6, the Wolves would see its lead grow to 12 over the next five minutes of play, as they used a 18-6 run to extend its lead following a made three pointer from Mason VanDeMortel. 
• From there, it would be nearly five minutes without a point for either side, as the next points came following a pair of made free throws from Cardello. 
• In the final minute of play, the Soaring Eagles would see back-to-back three pointers from Artuz, as Elmira was able to take advantage of a two-for-one situation. With 0.5 seconds remaining in the first half, Babcock was able to inbound the ball to Aidan Carnevale '27, who converted at the buzzer to trim the EC deficit to nine going into the locker room. 
• In the first half, the Soaring Eagles shot 10-of–31 from the floor (32.3%) compared to a 14-of-32 (43.8%) effort for the Wolves. Elmira would lead the offensive rebounding battle 7-5. 
• In the second half, Elmira would trim the Keuke lead down to as little as just three points with just over a minute remaining, but would eventually fall 70-65 after made free throws from the Wolves. 
• Elmira increased its shooting percentage to 40.0% (10-of-25) in the second half, while Keuka shot just 12-of-34 from the floor in the final frame.

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the court on Thursday as they host Alfred University inside Speidel Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.