Men’s Basketball Advances Past Elmira for 5th Straight Win
BROCKPORT, NY- The SUNY Brockport men’s basketball team collected its fifth straight victory as the Golden Eagles defeated the Elmira Soaring Eagles, 87-67, on Saturday night. The team improves to 12-8 on the year with a 10-1 slate in Empire 8 play. Brockport is currently the number one seed in the Empire 8 standings.
Mekhi Beckett was fantastic in the contest, scoring 21 on 8-16 shooting, with five made three-pointers.
Alex Tavarez and Nate Gordon were key contributors, with Tavarez dropping 15 on 4-7 shooting and Gordon adding 13 with three buckets from beyond the arc. Jacob Oka was a strong interior presence, scoring nine points with six rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Tony Arnold notched his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 10 points, while grabbing 12 rebounds and collecting a pair of steals.
Tyler Cardello led Elmira with 16 points on the night.
Elmira defended Brockport in a two-three zone for much of the first half, looking to force the Golden Eagles to beat them from beyond the arc. Much of Brockport’s early scoring chances came from three with Gordon and Beckett both hitting two early three-pointers a piece.
The Soaring Eagles managed to keep things close through 12 minutes, with both teams tied at 20 during this span. Brockport would force some tough shots on defense, leading to transition buckets that allowed them to open a lead.
Brockport held Elmira to 26 percent shooting in the first half as they led going into halftime 38-30.
Beckett led all first half scorers with 13, while Tavarez had nine and Gordon added eight.
After starting the first half with a three-ball, Gordon did the same coming out of halftime, as he connected from downtown on Brockport’s first possession of the second.
Brockport went on a 10-0 run to start the second half, upping their lead to 18.
Elmira would continue fighting for the remainder of the contest but was unable to get much going, bringing the deficit to 15 before Brockport shut the door, leading by more than 20 for much of the remainder of the contest.
The Golden Eagles shot an efficient 53 percent in the second frame as they coasted to victory.
Brockport is back in action on Friday, February 7th as they host the Nazareth Golden Flyers at 7:30 p.m.