ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Junior Brad Ford scored 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and senior guard Tyshun Stephens scored 18 of his 20 points in the second half Friday as visiting Nazareth defeated Elmira in an Empire 8 Conference men's basketball game, 71-65.

Nazareth improved its overall record to 9-4 and its E8 mark to 2-1. The Soaring Eagles dropped to 1-12 overall and 0-4 in conference games.

Ford scored 18 of his points in the first half when the Golden Flyers were building a seemingly insurmountable advantage. Nazareth led by as many as 16 points in the first half, 42-26, after junior Scott Hayford sank three free throws. A basket by Kurt Dutcher and a pair of free throws by Brian McDonald enabled Elmira to close within 42-30, but Ford sank two foul shots with :01 on the clock to give Nazareth a 44-30 lead at the break.

Elmira used a 21-5 surge over the first 10 minutes of the second half to seize a 51-49 lead and the game remained close the rest of the way. Chris Cassidy spearheaded the scoring run by scoring 15 of his game-high 29 points in the first 10 minutes, including the go-ahead field goal to give the Soaring Eales their first lead of the game at 51-49.

A basket by Dutcher pushed the Elmira lead to three, 59-56, with 5:21 to play before Nazareth rallied. Stephens took over offensively for Nazareth down the stretch as he scored nine of his points over the last five minutes. He made two free throws with 4:06 to go to tie the score at 61-61. Then after Ford sank a free throw, Stephens made another basket with 3:12 to play to give Nazareth the lead for good at 64-61.

The score went unchanged until the final minute as each team missed opportunities. Junior Jack Giles made four free throws in the final :31, Hayford also made a free throw and Stephens sank two more as Nazareth persevered. Hayford also finished with 10 points for the Golden Flyers.

Nazareth made 21 of 44 shots from the field (47.7 percent) and went 24 for 31 from the free throw line (77.4 percent). Elmira made 28 of 56 shots (50 percent). The Golden Flyers are home Saturday to play E8 rival Utica at 6 p.m.