ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Men's Basketball team would use a late push in the second half to even the score with the Saxons from Alfred University on Thursday evening, but would eventually come up short in its late efforts in a 71-66 decision. Elmira, who found themselves down six at the break and as much as nine just 90 seconds into the second half, would eventually hold a five point lead at the midway point before Alfred made late shots to secure the victory. 

The Soaring Eagles were paced offensively by Carter Seeberger '26, who would score 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in just 16 minutes. Elmira saw three others reach double-figures, as Riley Spencer '26 (13), Dylan Jacob '24 (12), and Tyler Cardello '24 (11) each contributed heavily to the offense. JJ Babcock '26 would round out the Soaring Eagle attack, as he finished one-point shy of a double-double after collecting ten rebounds. 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 66, Alfred 71
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (7-11, 3-6 Empire 8), Alfre (8-10, 5-3 Empire 8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Soaring Eagles and Saxons would battle in the first half, as three lead changes would eventually have Alfred ahead 33-27 at the break. 
• Alfred would see its lead grow to as much as 11 in the half, while leading the points off turnovers battle (10-4), and the second-chance points battle (7-3). The Soaring Eagles would see much of its offensive productivity come within the paint, leading the points in the paint matchup, 18-10. In the first half, Babcock would lead all Elmira scorers with nine points and six rebounds. 
• In the opening half, the Soaring Eagles shot 12-of-26 (46.2%) from the floor, compared to a 12-of-31 (38.7%) effort for the Saxons. 
• In the second half, the Saxons would quickly grow its lead to nine points, but Elmira would see seven straight points from Jacob to eventually tie the score at 39-39 with 13:37 remaining. Over the next eight minutes of play, there would be five lead changes between the teams, before a three-pointer from Seeberger with 5:33 remaining tied the ballgame once again. 
• From there, the Saxons would see a made three-pointer from Tyler Hind, which would be the last time the Soaring Eagles shared the score with Alfred. Over the final minutes of play, Alfred would extend its lead to as many as nine points, which was dwindled down to three with under a minute remaining following a layup from Cardello. 
• A costly turnover for the Soaring Eagles in the final minute would eventually secure the victory for Alfred, as Elmira was unable to see an equalizing shot in the final ten seconds of play.
• For the game, Elmira would shoot 25-of-50 from the floor including a 7-of-14 effort from beyond the arc, while Alfred would finish 12-of-30 from beyond the arc. 

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles return to the court on Tuesday when they travel to Houghton, New York to take on the Highlanders. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 PM.