ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Elmira College men's basketball team never trailed and held off a late run by Vassar College en route to a 76-67 victory over the Brewers in the opening round of the Lexington Rochester Airport Hotel Tournament, hosted by the University of Rochester, on Saturday night.

Elmira was firing on all cylinders and registered season highs in field goal percentage (46.4), free throw percentage (77.3), and rebounds (46), all while committing a season-low 11 turnovers. In all, five different Soaring Eagles scored double-digit points, paced by 17 from Henry Cuffee '19 and 12 from Anthony Abate '19, both of whom recorded double-doubles in the win.

Cuffee and rookie guard Jeremy Every '20 guided the Purple and Gold to an early lead in the first half, as the pair combined to score EC's first 19 points and 23-of-37 first-half points. Every netted three of the team's first four baskets as part of an 8-0 run to start the game. Cuffee converted an and-one play at the 11:33 mark of the first half to put Elmira up 19-12. The second-year forward completed another un unconventional three-point play with a little over six minutes to play in the half, once again extending the EC lead to seven, 27-20.

Although the Brewers trimmed the deficit to four points inside the two-minute mark, Hayden Harkins '18 nailed one of his two 3-pointers with 40 seconds to play before the break and the Soaring Eagles took a 37-28 lead into the locker room.

Harkins capped off a momentous 11-5 run in the first five minutes off the second half with a trey and a jumper. He was followed by 3-pointers from Abate and Justin Porrett '19, as the latter from Porrett extended Elmira's cushion to a game-best 18 points at 54-36 at the 13:31 mark.

However, a 3-point field goal from Mattie Mrlik on Vassar's ensuing possession sparked an 11-0 run over the next four minutes. That allowed the Brewers to cut the deficit to seven points, 54-47. Trailing 62-51 with approximately seven minutes left in regulation, Vassar scored 10 unanswered and came within one, 62-61.

It was the closest the Brewers could come to the lead all night, but the Soaring Eagles made good on 12 of their 14 attempted free throws down the stretch. All of Porrett's eight made free throws came within the final 3:11, as he helped Elmira seal the victory from the foul line.

Turning Point
After the Brewers painstakingly reduced an 18-point Elmira advantage down to a single point, 62-61, with 3:35 remaining in regulation, the Soaring Eagles were able to close out the game from the charity stripe. Porrett made a pair of free throws to put EC up 64-61 and an offensive foul on Vassar's Jesse Brown on the following possession proved to be fatal, as it allowed Every to push the lead to 66-61 with another pair of foul shots inside of two minutes.

In Their Own Words...
Head Coach Randie Torgalski on the victory over Vassar...
"It was a great win. Vassar is a very good team and they made an outstanding run at us, but we weathered the storm and hung together."

Coach Torgalski on Elmira's effectiveness crashing the glass...
"The battle of the boards is a big part of every game. But we did a better job of making them miss shots first, then we went after the ball. Missed shots allow you to rebound and I thought we did both pretty well tonight."

Coach Torgalski on the performances from Henry Cuffee and Anthony Abate...
"They are learning what they are capable of on the floor and what we need them to do for this team to be successful. They play with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and the rest of the team feeds off of them."

Inside the Box Score

• Elmira shot 26-for-56 (46.4-percent) from the field, while Vassar finished 26-for-60 (43.3-percent)
• The Purple and Gold out-rebounded the Brewers, 46-to-31.
• Both teams finished the contest with 12 assists.
• EC went 7-for-19 (36.8 %) from 3-point range.
• The Soaring Eagles were 17-for-22 (77.3-percent) from the charity stripe, while the Brewers went 12-23 (52.2-percent).
• Five players scored double-digit points for EC.
• Cuffee posted his first double-double of the season with a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds.
• He made 7-of-8 field goals, with his only missing coming from beyond the arc.
• Abate record his first double-double of the season with 12 points and game-high 14 rebounds.
• Porrett recorded a game-high seven assists.
• Mason Dyslin paced Vassar with a team-high 16 points and six rebounds.

News and Notes

• Elmira evened its record at 2-2 to start the 2016-17 season.
• EC is 2-0 all-time against Vassar, with both wins coming in the first round of a tournament hosted by U of R.
• The Purple and Gold have won two back-to-back contests for the first time since EC won three in a row in February of 2015.
• EC's field goal percentage (46.4), free throw percentage (77.3), and rebound total (46) are all season highs.
• Cuffee's first double-double marked the first of his career and his 12 rebounds are a new career high.
• Abate's double-double is also the first of his career, with 14 rebounds marking a new career best.
• Fourteen rebounds are the most by a Soaring Eagle since David Borelli recorded 14 on November 17, 2013.
• The double-doubles by Cuffee and Abate are the first for Elmira since David Borelli '15 recorded one on February 7, 2015, against Nazareth College.

Up Next
The Elmira men's basketball team will challenge the host University of Rochester Yellowjackets in the championship game of the Lexington Rochester Airport Hotel Tournament tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.