SJFC, Utica, Stevens and Elmira Claim E8 Wins
ELMIRA 72, Houghton 58
The Elmira College men's basketball team scored the first basket of the afternoon, a three-pointer from Justin Henderson'16, and never looked back, defeating Houghton College, 72-58. Neil Randolph '15, in his return to the starting lineup, scored a game-high 20 points in 35 minutes of action.
Randolph scored in a variety of ways for the Soaring Eagles, doing damage from behind the three-point line with three made three-pointers and at the free throw line where he shot 7-of-8. Close behind Randolph in the scoring column was Oladapo Badmos '17, who followed up his 18-point performance last night with 19 points against the Highlanders. Badmos wreaked havoc all day on Houghton's defenders, using his speed and ball-handling skills to draw a number of fouls. In total, Badmos racked-up 16 free throw attempts in the game and made 10 of them.
Also turning in double-digit scoring performances were Justin Henderson '16 and David Borelli '15. Henderson continued to flash his range, hitting 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line, and also added two free throws late to give him 11 points. Borelli played a huge role in today's victory. Not only did he post his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, he played extremely tough defense against Houghton's bigs and also added two blocks and a steal.
Gino Leonardi '16 made his presence known early as he scored or assisted on four of EC's first five baskets. Leonardi had five quick points, two layups and a converted and-one, and also assisted on both Ryan Chocek's fast-break layup and Randolph's first three-pointer of the game. Even with Leonardi's exceptional guard play, EC only led by three, 13-10, four minutes into the game.
The two teams traded baskets, with Elmira's lead getting no bigger than six points for much of the first half, but another three from Randolph pushed it to seven points at the 3:37 mark of the first half for the largest lead of the game thus far. A pair of Randolph free throws once again made it a seven-point game, 32-25, but Houghton went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes to tie the game at 32 with 29 seconds left in the half. With just a couple seconds left on the clock, Randolph caught a pass near the top of the key and elevated for a three-pointer. As he was releasing the ball, Randolph was fouled by Houghton's Johnathan Stowe, putting one of EC's top free-throw shooters on the line for three shots. Randolph hit all three, giving Elmira a 35-32 advantage at halftime.
Henderson once again opened the half with a three-pointer, immediately pushing the Purple and Gold's lead to six to open the second half, but a 7-2 Highlander run made it just a one-point game just minutes later. EC's lead hovered around four points for the next eight minutes of gameplay as Houghton did everything they could to keep the game within reach.
The Purple and Gold led by four, 49-45, with 8:01 to play, but it was at that point that the Soaring Eagles took over. EC scored the next six points to push their lead to double-digits for the first time and then stretched it out to 14 points after Randolph's third three-pointer of the afternoon with 2:42 left in regulation. Elmira did not record a field goal in the final 2:42 of regulation, but did hit 8-of-12 from the free throw line to close out the 72-58 victory.
ST. JOHN FISHER 102, Hartwick 65
The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team scored 59 points in the first half as the Cardinals cruised to their 10th straight win with a 102-65 victory over visiting Hartwick College on Saturday.
The 10-game winning streak is the sixth-longest in the program's 52-year history and the longest since the 2006-2007 season.
With the win, Fisher improves to 12-2 overall and 5-0 in the Empire 8 Conference, while Hartwick drops to 8-5, 3-1.
Hartwick jumped out to a 19-13 lead seven minutes into the game, but the Cardinals caught on fire after that. Fisher went on a 28-4 run over the next seven minutes, draining five 3-pointers during the critical run.
Fisher led 59-36 at the break and after Hartwick pulled to within 18 five minutes into the second half, the Cardinals pulled away, going on a 19-4 run to take a 33-point lead with eight minutes left in the game.
As a team, Fisher shot 60.0% from the floor (39-of-65), including 12-of-21 (57.1%) from 3-point range.
Senior Optimystik Kinard led Fisher with 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while also blocking two shots. He was one of six players to score in double-figures.
Tyler Hart added 17 points (3-of-3 from 3-point range) and four assists, while Keegan Ryan tallied his sixth double-double of the year, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Zach Ottaway tied his career-high with 14 points in just nine minutes of action.
Adam Ambielli scored 10 points, while Chaz Lott finished with eight points, eight assists and five rebounds.
UTICA 81, Alfred 75
The Alfred University men's basketball team (9-4, E8 3-2) was outdone by the high-paced Utica College Pioneers Saturday afternoon, 81-75, at the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
Despite dominating on second-chance points on offense (21-4), the Saxons were topped by the Utica Pioneers who used high-intensity offense to their advantage, outscoring the Saxons 20-2 on fast breaks. The Pioneers also held an advantage in points off turnovers, 16-10.
Right from the beginning, the game was full of non-stop action with either team looking for the decisive blow to maintain the advantage. In the first half the Pioneers shot an incredible 17-of-29 (58.6%) from the field and 3-of-7 (42.9%) from three. The Saxons shot 15-of-34 (44.1%) from the field and only 2-of-9 (22.2%) from long range. With the slight advantage the Pioneers carried a small margin of 40-38 into halftime.
Throughout the first half the Saxons were paced by freshman forward
Kevin McFall (Hatboro, PA/Upper Moreland) who had 12 points, three rebounds, and two steals in only 11 minutes. Senior
Dalton Walsh (Stockton, NY/Cassadega Valley) was also a major contributor in the first half with nine points and five rebounds.
In the second period it was a game of tug-of-war between the two teams, both struggling to maintain a lead. Finally, Utica's Chris Jeffers hit a layup to give his team the lead and a 7-0 run ensued to get the Pioneers some breathing room. However, the Saxons immediately answered back with an 8-0 run to grab the lead with 7:59 to go in the game. Unfortunately for the Saxons, Utica stormed down the court and hit a clutch 3PT shot to grab the lead and the momentum.
With 1:19 left in the game both teams were knotted at 75, but Jeffers found the hoop for two again to break the deadlock. Down by two and the last minute waning away, the Saxons were forced to foul and send the Pioneers to the charity stripe to test their luck. With 27 seconds to play Aaron Nevins of Utica hit 2-of-2 free throws to make it a four point game.
Next, first year coach,
Russell Phillips, called a time out to ready his troops for the ensuing play. The ball was passed into play by the Saxons, but was turned over and the game slipped from the Saxons. Nevins hit his next two foul shots with 14 seconds to go to seal the game, 81-75, in favor of the Pioneers.
Walsh led the Saxons with 24 points and nine rebounds, while McFall finished the contest with 14 points and 6 rebounds after running into foul trouble in the second half.
Jerry Kincel (Moosic, PA/Riverside) came off the bench to add 9 points and three rebounds while playing as a defensive specialist throughout the game, shutting down opposing players.
STEVENS 75, Nazareth 68
Stevens outlasted host Nazareth 75-68 in a men's Empire 8 basketball game Saturday afternoon. The Ducks made 25-28 (89 percent) of their free throw attempts, including nine in the final 55 seconds to secure the victory. The Golden Flyers' junior
Maurice Mills amassed 23 points and 18 rebounds to lead all players in both categories.
With the loss, Nazareth falls to 4-8 overall and 0-3 in conference games. Following the victory, Stevens improves to 6-7 overall and 3-2 in Empire 8 contests.
Saturday's contest was closely fought with 11 tie scores, including five in the second half. The second stanza also featured four lead changes with neither team being able to build a lead of more than six points until the final seconds. Coming out from the halftime break, Mills gave Nazareth a 32-31 lead with an offensive rebound and layup. The Golden Flyers stretched their lead to 52-46 following a layup by junior
Mitch Ford 7:36 into the second. Prior to Ford's basket, junior
Nick Nadeau and sophomore
Jack Mulcahy connected on consecutive shots from outside the arc to help Nazareth counter the Ducks' two-point buckets and stretch their lead.
During the next eight-minute span, Stevens chipped away at its deficit and took the lead for good with 4:28 remaining in regulation after Otis Osman converted a three-point play opportunity. The Golden Flyers stayed within one possession until the final 20 seconds when the Ducks' proficiency at the charity stripe sealed the their win. Nazareth finished 17-28 (61 percent) from the free throw line.
In the first half, Nazareth surged to an 18-5 lead in the opening 7:55. Ford ignited the run with the Golden Flyers' first basket on their opening possession. He added another basket and a pair of free throws during the run. Sophomore
Dan Morse connected a two-point shot and an attempt from outside the arc, while Mills recorded a basket and two free throws. Nadeau capped the run with a three-pointer.
Nazareth's defense held the Ducks without a field goal for nearly six minutes to begin the half. Stevens used a 16-4 run to pull within a point, 22-21, in a span of about five minutes to get back into the game. After trading baskets, Stevens scored the final points of the period to claim a 31-30 edge at halftime.
In addition to the points from Mills, Ford and Nadeau finished with 15 points and 13 points, respectively. With Mills' 18 boards, the Golden Flyers recorded a 31-27 advantage in total rebounds. Morse tallied a game-high six assists to help start Nazareth's offense.
Patrick Sabatino had a team-high 18 points for Stevens, and Osman (16 points), Alex Lorenz (15 points), and Patrick Barron (11 points) also finished in double-digits in scoring.