ELMIRA, N.Y. – The Elmira College Soaring Eagles men's basketball team hosted the Highlanders of Houghton University for an Empire 8 conference matchup inside Speidel Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Soaring Eagles made 13 three-pointers, helping them claim victory over the Highlanders, 73-58.
 
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Tyler Cardello got the scoring started for EC with a layup. JJ Babcock hit a three-pointer on the following Elmira possession to go up 5-0. Cardello hit back-to-back three pointers to put the Soaring Eagles up 13-4 five minutes in. Houghton responded with a 10-3 run to close the gap. The Soaring Eagles continued their stellar shooting from beyond the arc as Kelton Brown and Cardello dropped three-pointers. Alec Mercer and Daemon Thomas would make three-pointers off their own to cap off a 19-5 run for Elmira. The threes kept falling a few minutes later as Thomas made his second of the half to put Elmira up 38-21. The Soaring Eagles shot 41 percent from three-point range in the first half, pushing them out to a 40-27 halftime advantage.

EC continued the momentum into the second half with a quick basket from Cardello to open the scoring. Mercer made a three-pointer from the top of the key to cap off a 7-0 run for EC. The Highlanders answered with a 13-2 run that cut the lead to nine points. Mercer responded with his third three-pointer of the contest. Babcock stole the ball and sent a pass to Mercer on the wing for another three-pointer. Elmira's defense locked it down, holding Houghton scoreless for a six-minute stretch. Mercer capped off the 13-0 scoring run with a pair of free throws, part of a 13 point second half for him. Emmanuel Karkari-Mensah hit a three pointer from the wing to put EC up 67-44. Elmira scored 27 points off turnovers, pushing them to a 73-58 victory.
 
LEADERS
Offensively, Cardello led with 23 points and had nine rebounds while Mercer had 16 points, including four three-pointers. Brown scored ten points and tallied six assists. All three of these guys led the way defensively with three steals apiece.
 
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles travel to Albany, NY for a conference matchup with the Gators of Russell Sage College on Friday, February 6^th. Tip-off is set for 7:30 PM.