ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Men's Basketball team would finish its final home weekend of the season with a victory over the Gators from Russell Sage on Saturday afternoon, 77-75. In a game that would come down to the wire, one of Elmira's best runs in the contest came in the final 1:15 of the first half, as the Soaring Eagles used a 7-0 run to decrease its deficit to just one-point heading into the locker room. 

For the contest, Tyler Cardello '26 would lead all Elmira scorers with 19 points and eight rebounds. Three others recorded double-digit scoring efforts for Elmira, as Riley Spencer '26 (15), Carter Seeberger '26 (14), and JJ Babcock '26 (10) rounded out the Purple & Gold offense. 

JUST THE BASICS:
SCORE: Elmira 77, Russell Sage 75
LOCATION: Elmira, New York | Speidel Gymnasium
TEAM RECORDS: Elmira (9-14, 5-9 Empire 8), Hartwick (9-15, 2-13 Empire 8)

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Through the first 14 minutes of play, the contest would stay within four points for either team leading as a layup from Babcock with 6:07 remaining in the half put Elmira ahead by three. From there, the Gators would see an 11-0 run over the next five minutes of play, as they held the largest lead of the game, eight points, with 1:15 remaining. 
• Over the final 75 seconds of the half, Elmira would get a much-needed run of its own, as the Soaring Eagles went on to outscore Russell Sage 7-0 on a 4-of-4 effort from the line from Evans, as well as a three-pointer from Seeberger. 
• In the first half, Seeberger would lead all Elmira scorers with 11 points, while Cardello followed closely with seven. As a team, the Soaring Eagles would shoot 11-of-25 (44.0%) from the floor, compared to a 14-of-26 (53.8%) mark for the Gators.
• Babcock would score the first bucket of the second half, allowing Elmira to regain its lead. From there, the game would teeter back and forth over the next eight minutes, until the Gators ultimately found themselves ahead by five following a layup from Deavion Springsteen. 
• A pivotal turning point in the contest would come over the next 60 seconds, as Elmira recorded a trio of three-pointers off the hands of Seeberger, Cardello, and Evans, to put themselves back ahead by four. As the game progressed, the Elmira lead would sit at as many as six points, before the Gators were forced to foul down the stretch. Over the final minute, Elmira would finish 5-of-5 from the line, concluding a 19-of-21 effort for the contest as they went on to collect a 77-75 victory. 

UP NEXT:
The Soaring Eagles will hit the road for the last weekend of conference play on Friday and Saturday as they travel to Keuka and Utica with playoff implications intact. Tip-off on Friday at Keuka is slated for 7:30 PM.