Estarfaa Nets 25 as Cortland Men Defeat Elmira, 80-66

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CORTLAND, N.Y. – Senior Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) made 5-of-9 of his 3-pointers en route to a game-high 25 points as Cortland defeated visiting Elmira, 80-66, in a men's basketball non-league game. The Red Dragons improved to 6-1 with their third straight victory.

Estarfaa finished 8-of-15 from the field overall and 4-of-4 from the foul line. Freshman Justin Cooper (Pine Plains/Stissing Mountain) scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and senior Grequan Carter (Queens/Campus Magnet) made 5-of-7 shots and finished with 12 points and six rebounds. Senior JP Reagan (Cortland) chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and a game-high five blocked shots and senior Shayne Martinez (West Haverstraw/North Rockland) scored eight points.

Elmira (1-6) was led by Hayden Harkins' 17 points. He connected on 5-of-10 shots from the 3-point arc. Gino Leonardi scored 14 points and handed out five assists and Justin Porrett totaled 12 points (5-of-7 shooting), three assists and five rebounds. Justin Henderson paced the Soaring Eagles with seven rebounds.

Both team shots exactly 28-of-56 (50 percent) from the field. Cortland, however, hit 12-of-27 (44 percent) from 3-point land compared to Elmira's 7-of-24 accuracy (29 percent), and the Red Dragons outscored the Soaring Eagles 12-7 on the foul line. Both teams finished with single-figure turnover counts - nine for Elmira and seven for Cortland.

Cortland took an 11-10 lead with 15:05 left in the first half on a Carter layup that ignited a large cheer from the Red Dragon faithful during the second annual "Silent Night" game. The promotion, a Toys for Tots fundraiser, had Cortland fans remain silent until the Red Dragons scored their 10th point of the evening.

Later in the half, 3-pointers by Cooper and freshman Andrew McGuire (Congers/St. Joseph Regional (NJ)) gave Cortland a 39-28 lead. The Red Dragons led 42-33 at halftime, but Elmira quickly closed to within 42-39 on a Leonardi jumper and two Justin Porrett layups in the first 1:37 of the second half.

Cortland went on a 11-0 run from the 12:30 to 10:39 marks to take a 16-point lead at 61-45. Estarfaa scored the first five points of the run, followed by four straight from Carter. Elmira trailed 67-55 with 6:10 left before scoring six straight, capped by a Porrett layup, to close within six with 3:34 remaining. Estarfaa, however, hit a 3-pointer on Cortland's next possession and the Red Dragons led by at least seven from that point forward. Cortland made 6-of-8 free throws during the final 1:23.

Cortland will return to action a week from Saturday, Dec. 19, versus SUNY Polytechnic at 2 p.m.