Utica, NY -- It took until the final seconds of regulation to be decided, but a pair of technical free throws with one second remaining gave the Elmira College men's basketball team (4-6, 1-2 E8) their first Empire 8 Conference win of the season, a 53-49 victory over Utica College (5-7, 0-3 E8). An inadvertent timeout by the Utica bench set up the final free throws which all but put the game out of reach. The win also snaps Elmira's three-game losing streak.

EC jumped out to an early lead, opening the game on an 11-2 run. Matt Newell '14 started the night's scoring with a three-pointer on Elmira's opening possession while Josh Keys'14 hit two of his three first half three-pointers to open up the game. The Pioneers proceeded to go on an 11-3 run to cut the Soaring Eagles' lead to one.

After the lead dwindled down to one, the Empire 8's leading scorer, Neil Randolph '15 picked up his game, scoring EC's next seven points as the Purple and Gold remained in front, 21-17. The scoring really picked up in the final five minutes in the half as Elmira closed the half on a 10-6 run to take a 31-23 lead into the locker rooms.

The Soaring Eagles opened the second half strong as a layup by David Borelli '15 and two free throws by Randolph gave EC a 12 point lead. The Purple and Gold, however, would go cold from the field over the next 10 minutes as Utica used a 22-4 run to take a 44-39 lead.  EC would answer though to tie the game at 46 with 2:46 to play.

The Pioneers split a pair of free throws to go ahead 47-46, but Derrick Vogel '14 answered with a clutch shot from behind the arc to give the Soaring Eagles a two point lead with 1:07 to play. Randolph stretched the lead to four with 18 seconds to play, but a quick layup four seconds later from Utica's Aaron Nevins made it a two point game again.

From that point on, the clock was EC's ally as Utica needed to foul three times to put Elmira in the bonus. The Pioneers finally picked up their seventh team foul with four seconds to play, putting Vogel on the line for a one-and-one. After the senior missed the front end, Utica called a timeout to set up a final play. The Pioneer guard dribbled the ball down the court but got into trouble with just over a second on the clock and the Utica bench called a timeout, a timeout that they did not have. Since the Pioneers were out of timeouts, a technical foul was called and Randolph hit the two technical free throws to put the game out of reach. The final horn sounded, giving the Soaring Eagles a 53-49 victory.

The Purple and Gold received contributions from just about everyone on their roster tonight as eight players got into the scoring column. Randolph led two Soaring Eagles in double digits, pouring in a game-high 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Keys was the other double-digit scorer with 11 points, including three made three pointers.

Vogel filled up the stat sheet tonight as the senior tallied eight points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals while playing all 40 minutes for the Soaring Eagles.

EC has a short turnaround as the men travel to Alfred University tomorrow afternoon looking to pick up their second conference win in as many days. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.