ELMIRA COLLEGE MEN’S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
Games 11 & 12: Elmira College vs. St. John Fisher & Nazareth
THIS WEEKEND’S OPPONENTS St. John Fisher CARDINALS (6-3, 0-0 Empire 8)
Friday, January 8th, 2015 Speidel Gymnasium -- Elmira, NY -- 6:00 p.m.
2015-16 SCHEDULE (2-8, 0-1 EMPIRE 8) 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
Career Night for Gino
Gino Leonardi ’16 has been Elmira’s go-to guy this season, and last Monday’s bout with Stevens was no different. The senior guard scored a career-high 29 points and was credited with eight assists, which tied his career best. Leonardi also pulled down six boards, made two steals, and had one block. Against Stevens, Justin Henderson ’16 had his best shooting and scoring performances of the season. Henderson knocked down a season-high seven threepointers in the process of scoring a season-high 25 points. His 25-point performance is the second-highest point total of his EC career, while his seven made threes are third-most.
Saturday, January 9th, 2015 Speidel Gymnasium -- Elmira, NY -- 5:00 p.m. 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
The Soaring Eagles are coming off a heartbreaking one-point loss in overtime in their Empire 8 opener against Stevens Institute of Technology. Stevens led the entire second half, going up by as many as seven points, but Gino Leonardi ’16 capped an Elmira comeback with a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. The extra five-minute period was just as exciting as the previous 40, as Elmira trimmed a six-point deficit to just one with under 20 seconds to play. However, a pair of made free throws down the stretch by Chris Cosgrove allowed the Ducks to hold on for the win, 95-94.
Henderson Finds his Rhythm
Nazareth GOLDEN FLYERS (5-5, 1-0 Empire 8)
Day NOV. DEC. JAN. FEB.
Last Time Out
All-Time Series: St. John Fisher
St. John Fisher owns a decisive 50-14 edge in the all-time series and has won 25 straight entering tonight’s contest. Elmira’s last win dates back to the 2001-02 season, when the Soaring Eagles claimed a 75-61 victory.
Time-Result L, 72-81 Scouting the Cardinals L, 71-83 St. John Fisher College enters tonight’s contest with a 6-3 overall record, as it L, 73-80 opens its conference schedule against Elmira. The Cardinals have won three of L, 53-72 W, 93-88 (OT) their last four games, including back-to-back double-digit wins at the Woodcliff L, 74-81 Hotel and Spa Invitational en route to the tournament title. One area Fisher has L, 66-80 excelled at this season has been on the defensive side of the ball, as the Cardinals L, 56-91 have held opponents to a conference-leading 66.8 points per game. Fisher also W, 62-59 L, 94-95 (OT) boasts the country’s 11th-leading three-point defense, limiting opposing teams to a 26.9% from distance. Although Fisher’s defense has been key, its offense has 6:00 p.m. been just as good. The Cardinals have five players with double-digit scoring aver5:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. ages, led by fourth-year guard Tyler Hart’s 20.3 points per game. 6:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. All-Time Series: Nazareth 6:00 p.m. Elmira and Nazareth have faced each other 60 times dating back to their first 6:00 p.m. meeting in 1978-79. The Golden Flyers have enjoyed their fair share of success in 6:00 p.m. 1:00 p.m. those matchups with a 40-20 record. Nazareth enters the matchup having won 6:00 p.m. the previous 20 meetings. Elmira’s last win in the series dates back to the 2004-05 2:00 p.m. season, when the Purple and Gold used a 40-point second half to score a 71-66 6:00 p.m. win. 6:00 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m. Scouting the Golden Flyers TBA Nazareth College began the 2015-16 season with three consecutive wins but hit a TBA rough patch shortly after, dropping five straight. However, the Golden Flyers were able to snap their five-game skid in their final game of 2015 with a four-point win over Keystone College. Nazareth built-off that momentum and claimed an eyeopening 95-60 road victory over Ithaca College last Tuesday to even its overall record at 5-5. In the win over the Bombers, Mitch Ford paced the Golden Flyers with a monster game of 28 points and 14 rebounds, his national-leading ninth double-double of the season. Ford leads Nazareth this season with a conferenceleading 26.2 points per game and 13.2 rebounds per contest, which is also tops in the Empire 8 Conference.
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