Elmira, N.Y. – The Elmira College Soaring Eagles men's basketball team earned its first win of the season in their home opener, defeating SUNY Cobleskill, 83-78. The Soaring Eagles built an 11-point halftime advantage before responding to a second-half comeback effort from the Fighting Tigers to secure the five-point victory.
LEADERS
Offensively, Gustavo Coutinho led the way for Elmira with 20 points and 11 rebounds, recording a double-double while adding two blocks. Nathan Aviles and Mason Fritz each contributed nine points, with Aviles connecting on two three-pointers and Fritz collecting five rebounds. Ehan Ilyas finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while AJ Graham also added eight points. Emmanuel Karkari-Mensah paced the Soaring Eagles with seven assists.
PLAY-BY-PLAY
Elmira opened the scoring with a tip-in from Cole Ivory before SUNY Cobleskill answered with a three-pointer. Fritz converted a pair of free throws, and Karkari-Mensah followed with a three-pointer to put the Soaring Eagles back in front. Ilyas added a layup before Fritz and Coutinho each scored on second-chance opportunities to help Elmira build an early advantage. Woodard finished a layup off a Karkari-Mensah assist, while Graham connected from beyond the arc to extend the lead. A dunk from Dimitris Olympios got the Soaring Eagles momentum at its peak while Coutinho continued to provide an offensive presence inside as the Soaring Eagles maintained control. With just three seconds remaining before halftime, Gavin White knocked down a three-pointer off a Karkari-Mensah assist, sending Elmira into the break with a 40-29 advantage.
Cobleskill opened the second half with a three-pointer and continued to chip away at the deficit, eventually taking a 42-41 lead. Ilyas answered with a layup to put Elmira back in front, while Graham and Coutinho added baskets to help the Soaring Eagles regain momentum. Olympios contributed a pair of layups, and Amin Ba-Ahmad converted at the free throw line as the teams' traded baskets. Cobleskill eventually evened the score at 53 before taking a 58-53 advantage midway through the half.
Coutinho and Fritz helped keep Elmira within striking distance, with Fritz adding a tip-in before Ilyas tied the game at 61 with a second-chance basket. After Cobleskill briefly moved back in front, Ilyas connected on a jumper to even the score at 63. Aviles followed with a three-pointer, and Graham added another from beyond the arc to give Elmira a 69-63 lead. Aviles continued to contribute offensively, while Coutinho added a layup and a dunk to help the Soaring Eagles maintain their advantage down the stretch. Ivory added a late layup, and after Cobleskill worked to close the gap, he converted two free throws with eight seconds remaining to help seal the 83-78 home-opening victory.
UP NEXT
The Soaring Eagles return to action on Saturday, November 14 when they travel to Hilbert. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM.
For the latest and most up-to-date information on Elmira College Athletics, please visit athletics.elmira.edu. Follow us on Twitter - @ECSoaringEagles, Instagram - @ecsoaringeagles, YouTube - @ECSoaringEagles, and Facebook by searching Elmira College Athletics.
