ELMIRA COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
Games 13: Elmira College at Ithaca College
TUESDAY’S OPPONENT
Last Time Out
Elmira continued to struggle out of the gates in Empire 8 play over the weekend, falling to St. John Fisher College and Nazareth College in a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday at Speidel Gymnasium. The Soaring Eagles hung around all game against the Cardinals, but could not quite close the gap in a 71-58 loss. A 23-to8 run spanning the conclusion of the first half and opening 1:41 of the second gave Fisher a lead they would not relinquish. The Soaring Eagles were unable to cut the deficit into single-digits again. Saturday’s contest was not as competitive. The Golden Flyers shot 58.6-percent from the field in the opening half to take a 16-point lead into the break. The second half was more of the same in the 85-47 loss.
Rediscovering the Range
Ithaca College BOMBERS (8-4, 2-2 Empire 8) Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 Ben Light Gymnasium -- Ithaca, NY -- 6:00 p.m.
Elmira has been one of the conference’s top three-point shooting teams on the year. The Soaring Eagles rank third in the conference with 108 three-point makes this season, while their 36.5-percent shooting from distance is the fourth-best mark in the Empire 8. Elmira is averaging 9.0 made three-pointers per game this season; however, the team has struggled to find the range in its last two conference games. The Soaring Eagles went 10-for-40 (25%) in the pair of losses, which included a season-worst 2-for-17 outing against Nazareth. EC will look to rediscover its shooting range; however, it may have its hands full with Ithaca’s Empire 8 leading three-point defense.
Harkins Hot Hand
Elmira swing man Hayden Harkins ’18 has continued to possess a hot hand from distance this season. Despite suffering a minor injury that caused him to miss a pair of games around New Years weekend, he returned to the lineup over the 2015-16 SCHEDULE (2-10, 0-3 EMPIRE 8) Day Date Opponent Time-Result weekend and continued to make an impact from beyond the arc. Harkins went 4-for-11 (36.3%) from three-point range in the two contests. He ranks second in NOV. 20 Morrisville State^ L, 72-81 the conference, shooting 43.9-percent (36-of-82) from beyond the arc. 21 Mount Saint Mary^ L, 71-83 24 Hilbert L, 73-80 28 Carnegie Mellon% L, 53-72 Leonardi Stepping Up 29 Chatham% W, 93-88 (OT) Senior trigger man Gino Leonardi ’16 has continued to step up for the Soaring DEC. 4 St. Lawrence L, 74-81 Eagles this season. He has carried the Elmira offense, ranking 10th in league scor 9 SUNY Cortland L, 66-80 ing at 16.5 points per game. He broke a career high from earlier this season when 29 Wesleyan& L, 56-91 he poured in 29 points in the heartbreaking loss to Stevens to open Empire 8 play 30 Endicott& W, 62-59 JAN. 4 Stevens* L, 94-95 (OT) early last week. He has also been the Soaring Eagles’ go-to guy down the stretch 8 St. John Fisher* L, 58-71 of close games, twice nailing late three-pointers to tie games against Endicott and 9 Nazareth* L, 47-85 Stevens. 12 Ithaca* 6:00 p.m. 15 Utica* 6:00 p.m. All-Time Series: Ithaca 16 Hartwick* 2:00 p.m. Elmira earned a season split with Ithaca last season, as each team won in each 19 Houghton* 6:00 p.m. 21 Alfred* 6:00 p.m. others home gym. Overall, the Bombers hold a 39-22 advantage in the all-time 27 Ithaca* 6:00 p.m. series. The series has been pretty even over recent years, as Ithaca holds just a 30 Stevens* 1:00 p.m. slight 6-4 edge over the last five seasons. Interestingly, Elmira has won the last FEB. 5 Utica* 6:00 p.m. two trips to Ben Light Gymnasium. 6 Hartwick* 2:00 p.m. 9 Houghton* 6:00 p.m. Scouting the Bombers 12 St. John Fisher* 6:00 p.m. 13 Nazareth* 6:00 p.m. Ithaca has gotten off to a solid start to its season, entering Tuesday with an 8-4 20 Alfred* 2:00 p.m. record, which includes a 2-2 mark in Empire 8 play. The team has split its first two 26 Empire 8 Semifinals TBA conference series of the year, taking home victories over Stevens and Houghton, 27 Empire 8 Final TBA while also falling to Nazareth and Alfred. The Bombers boast one of the strongest offenses in the conference, averaging 86.8 points per game. They have exceeded Bold Indicates Home Contest 90 points in five of their contests this season, including a season-high 120 in the *Denotes Empire 8 Contest ^Elmira College Tip-Off Classic win over Stevens. It is a well balanced attack for Ithaca, as all five primary start%Carnegie Mellon Invitational ers average double-figures in scoring. Sophomore guard Marc Chasin paces the &Salem State Holiday Classic group, ranking second in the Empire 8 at 20.6 points per game. Sophomore Joey Flanigan has provided a strong compliment in the backcourt, ranking seventh in league scoring at 17.5 per contest. Senior sharp shooter Sam Bevan is the team’s biggest three-point threat with 33 makes and a 15.3 points per game average.
ElmiraCollegeAthletics @ECSoaringEagles ECSportsInfo
ECSoaringEagles
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