RSC Holds Off Visiting Elmira 80-77
ALBANY, N.Y. – In a matchup that pitted the top-two offenses in the Empire 8 Conference against each other, Russell Sage College Men’s Basketball held off visiting Elmira 80-77.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
28 | 49 | 77 |
|
|
32 | 48 | 80 |
Team Stats
Elmira
| Game Statistics | Elmira | Russell Sage College |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (27-65) | (28-67) |
| Field Goal % | 41.5% | 41.8% |
| Rebounds | 49 | 38 |
| Assists | 11 | 16 |
| Turnovers | 20 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 11 | 19 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 18 | 9 |
| Pts in the Paint | 36 | 36 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 12 | 19 |
| Bench Pts | 15 | 16 |
ALBANY, N.Y. – In a matchup that pitted the top-two offenses in the Empire 8 Conference against each other, Russell Sage College Men's Basketball held off visiting Elmira 80-77.
The Gators (18-3/10-2 E8), which never trailed, had four players score in double figures in the home victory.
Senior guard Brandon Harris (Elmsford, NY/Alexander Hamilton/Herkimer CC), led the way with 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting. The Conference leader in steals and steals per-game contributed seven rebounds, five assists and two steals to help RSC, currently residing at the top of the E8 standings, move to 11-0 inside the friendly confines of the Kahl Campus Center.
Junior guard Pape Tunkara (Mount Vernon, NY/Iona Prep/Genesee CC) registered 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, three steals, and three assists, while junior center Khalel Noteman (Brooklyn, NY/Canarsie), who entered the weekend among the E8 leaders in field goal percentage, added a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior forward Jeremy Rosario (Albany, NY/Colonie Central/Alma) chipped in 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting and seven boards to net double digits for the second time in the past three games.
"Tonight was another example of a hard fought Empire 8 Conference game in February," commented Head Coach Brian Barnes. "These games are hard to win. I have a lot of respect for the job Coach Tobin is doing with his guys at Elmira. I felt both teams played extremely hard tonight and we were fortunate to get out of here with a win. A lot of thanks to the great support from Sage Nation as they definitely we're our sixth man tonight feeding us with energy. We'll get some rest tonight and we've got a tough Keuka team coming in tomorrow afternoon for Senior Day."
The Gators, which commenced the weekend action as the top offense in the E8 at 86.2 points per-game, got out ahead early, holding a 23-10 lead 10:48 into the contest.
Elmira (8-13/3-9 E8), averaging 77.8 points per-game, battled back with 14 of the next 16 points to head into the locker room trailing 32-28.
The second half mirrored the first in that respect. After the Gators used an 11-0 run across 2:06 to go up 15, 51-36, with 14:53 left in regulation, Elmira answered with a 20-6 jaunt spanning the next 4:34 to trail by just one, 57-56 with 10:19 to go.
RSC obtained some breathing room, holding a ten-point advantage with 6:03 remaining. The Soaring Eagles continued to stay in it, down just two, 73-71, with 1:18 left via a successful "And One" by senior forward Tyler Cardello.
From there, RSC secured the contest at the foul line. The Gators went 7-of-8 on their free throws across the final 56 seconds, including a pair of makes by Tunkara with a bit more than a second remaining for the final points of the night. Harris batted down the ensuing Elmira inbounds hail mary pass to halfcourt to seal it.
Elmira had two players, Cardello and senior forward JJ Babcock, register a double-double in the close loss. Cardello topped the Soaring Eagles with 23 points, 17 of which came in the second half, on 8-of-15 shooting, while Babcock scored 15 points, just two in the final period, on 7-of-12 shooting. Both forwards grabbed 10 boards each.
RSC successfully bottled up Elmira sophomore Kelton Brown, the Conference's leading scorer, tonight. The guard, who began the night averaging an E8-best 20.1 points a night, tallied just 10 points on a 4-of-11 shooting performance.
As Coach Barnes stated above, RSC hosts Keuka tomorrow afternoon. The program will hold its "Senior Day" ceremony before the 4:00 PM contest.
Gator Bites: The 2025-2026 season marks the 17th for Barnes at the helm of Russell Sage College Men's Basketball…He achieved career win number 200 on November 15 at SUNY Cobleskill...With four games left in the regular season, the Gators are currently tied with Nazareth for first in the E8 standings with 10-2 record...RSC, which has locked up a playoff spot already, holds the head-to-head advantage by virtue of the home win on January 23...The E8 Championship Tournament begins on Saturday, February 21...RSC got off to its best five-game (5-0), ten-game (9-1), and 15-game (13-2) starts to a season in program history…The first loss was to top-ranked Trinity…The 2014-2015 edition of the Gators started their season at 6-1 and 7-3 on their way to a 23-5 overall record and capturing the Skyline Conference Tournament Championship, and accompanying NCAA Tournament berth...RSC started that historic season, and also began last year, with a 12-3 record...The Gators opened the weekend as the top offense in the Conference at 86.2 points per-game…RSC, which has already locked up a postseason berth, is coming off a trip to the Quarterfinals of the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament…Seven players back from last year's squad…Harris, junior guard Deavion Springsteen (Albany, NY/Albany), and Noteman headline the returners…Harris, voted third-team All-Conference, topped the Gators with 12.9 points per-game last season…The senior converted the game-winning layup with two seconds left in the January 6 overtime victory at Utica…He began the week leading the Conference in steals and steals per-game and sat fifth with 17.4 points per-game…Junior guard Pape Tunkara (Mount Vernon, NY/Iona Prep/Genesee CC) commenced the week third in the E8 with 2.3 steals per-game…Noteman started the week third in the Conference in field goal percentage...Barnes added seven newcomers to the program…Sophomore guard Kyle Dhu (Ozone Park, NY/Brooklyn Law and Tech) was tabbed the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, November 16…He averaged 25.5 points on 60.7 percent shooting in the 2-0 week…The sophomore made 61.5 percent of his three-point attempts and totaled 11 rebounds, five steals and four assists across the pair of victories…Harris was selected the E8 Player of the Week for the period ending Sunday, January 26…The guard averaged 26.0 points on 51.3 percent shooting across home wins vs. Nazareth (1/23) and Saint John Fisher (1/24)…He scored 35 points, the second most in a game by an RSC player, in the victory vs. Nazareth…On February 23, 2017 vs. Old Westbury, Rob Mills '17 went for 36 to help the Gators advance to the Skyline Conference Championship Tournament Finals.
