ELMIRA COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
Game 22: Elmira College vs. Houghton College
TUESDAY’S OPPONENT
Last Time Out
Elmira suffered back-to-back losses last weekend, dropping conference games to Utica College and Hartwick College. The Soaring Eagles were on the wrong end of a last-second buzzer-beater last Friday, as Utica’s Robert Tutein heaved a desperation three as the horn sounded to lift the Pioneers to a 75-74 win. Prior to Tutein’s game-winning shot, rookie Justin Porrett ’19 put Elmira on top by two points with a layup through traffic with his off-hand with 1.3 seconds in regulation. The following afternoon’s contest was not as close, as Hartwick utilized its size and three-point precision to claim a double-digit victory. Porrett and Gino Leonardi ’16 paced the Soaring Eagles with 17 points apiece against the Hawks.
Career Day for Porrett
Justin Porrett ’19 is quickly making a name for himself around the league. The rookie guard from Dumont, NJ, has had a phenomenal freshman campaign, which he continued over the weekend. Porrett dropped a career-high 24 points against Utica and logged another 17 points against Hartwick the following afternoon. Porrett’s 24 points are the most scored by an Elmira freshman in over 14 seasons.
Houghton College HIGHLANDERS (9-11, 4-8 Empire 8)
Record Book Watch
Tuesday, February 9th, 2016 Speidel Gymnasium -- Elmira, NY -- 6:00 p.m.
Three-point marksmen Justin Henderson ’16 and Hayden Harkins ’18 could etch their names into the EC record books before the season is over. Henderson sits on 120 made three-pointers for his career, eight shy of moving into a two-way tie for 10th place. Harkins on the other hand has 63 treys this season, just three makes away from moving into a three-way tie for ninth place in single-season program history.
Top-30 for Harkins
Hayden Harkins ’18 continues to rank among the nation’s best in terms of distance shooting. He has knocked down shots from beyond the arc at a 43.4-perTime-Result cent clip this season, which is good for the 29th best mark in the country. L, 72-81 L, 71-83 Rookie Three-peat L, 73-80 Porrett continues to stamp himself in the discussion for the Empire 8 Conference L, 53-72 W, 93-88 (OT) Rookie of the Year discussion as the season winds down the final stretch. He was named Empire 8 Rookie of the Week for the third time this season this past MonL, 74-81 day, this coming after his virtuose performances against Utica and Hartwick. Only L, 66-80 Peter Ezema (four) of Ithaca College has earned the accolade more this season. L, 56-91 W, 62-59 L, 94-95 (OT) Henderson Finalist for 2016 GEICO Play of the Year L, 58-71 Henderson and the Elmira men’s basketball program received more great news L, 47-85 on Monday, as it was revealed that his game-winning three-quarter court buzzer L, 73-77 beater against Endicott (12/30) has moved on to the final round of selection for L, 66-76 the 2016 GEICO Play of the Year. The winner will be revealed during CBS’ Best of L, 70-81 College Basketball special at 12:00 p.m. EST on March 27th. L, 64-74 W, 76-72 Series History L, 64-80 Elmira and Houghton have played their fair share of games over the years, 40 to W, 75-70 be exact. The Soaring Eagles own a decisive 34-6 advantage in the all-time series, L, 74-75 L, 65-83 but the Highlanders own the most recent win, a 74-64 victory that occurred ear6:00 p.m. lier this season. 6:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. Scouting Houghton 2:00 p.m. With four conference games remaining on its schedule, Houghton College is still TBA in contention for its first Empire 8 Conference Tournament berth. The Highlanders TBA are one win away from moving into a virtual tie for fourth place in the conference standings with a 4-8 E8 record. Last time out, Houghton registered a 10-point win at home against Utica, which snapped a three-game skid and secured a regular season series sweep of the Pioneers. One area the Highlanders have excelled at this year has been on the boards, especially on the offensive glass. Houghton ranks first in the E8 in rebounding, averaging 44.6 boards per contest, and is also tops in offensive rebounding with 16.1 per game. Rochester, NY, native and Alfred University transfer, Phil Pellegrino, is Houghton’s go-to guy on offense with a team-leading 14.9 points per game. Most of Pellegrino’s damage has been done ECSoaringEagles from three-point range, as 55.4-percent of his scoring has come from distance.
2015-16 SCHEDULE (4-17, 2-10 EMPIRE 8)
Day NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB.
Date 20 21 24 28 29 4 9 29 30 4 8 9 12 15 16 19 21 27 30 5 6 9 12 13 20 26 27
Opponent Morrisville State^ Mount Saint Mary^ Hilbert Carnegie Mellon% Chatham% St. Lawrence SUNY Cortland Wesleyan& Endicott& Stevens* St. John Fisher* Nazareth* Ithaca* Utica* Hartwick* Houghton* Alfred* Ithaca* Stevens* Utica* Hartwick* Houghton* St. John Fisher* Nazareth* Alfred* Empire 8 Semifinals Empire 8 Final
Bold Indicates Home Contest *Denotes Empire 8 Contest ^Elmira College Tip-Off Classic %Carnegie Mellon Invitational &Salem State Holiday Classic
ElmiraCollegeAthletics @ECSoaringEagles ECSportsInfo
Sports Information: Don Sherman (dsherman@elmira.edu); Dan DeCaria (ddecaria@elmira.edu); Travis Larner (tlarner@elmira.edu) Phone: 607.735.1131 Fax: 607.735.1768 Website: athletics.elmira.edu Address: One Park Place, Elmira, NY 14901