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ELMIRA, N.Y. -- Freshman Tyshun Stephens had a career night for the visiting Golden Flyers as he tallied a game-high 27 points and added a team-high seven rebounds as Nazareth defeated Elmira 93-61 in an Empire 8 conference game. Stephens finished the contest shooting a torrid 77 percent (10-13) from the field.

With the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the Empire 8. The Soaring Eagles drop to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference.

Nazareth controlled the game from the first few minutes of play. Less than eight minutes into the game, the Golden Flyers surged to a double-digit lead, 19-8. Nazareth extended its lead to 27 points, 54-27, with 2:12 remaining in the half following a two-point jumper by freshman Stephens.

The Golden Flyers were unstoppable from the field as they connected on over 73 percent (22-30) of their shots in the first 20 minutes, including 7-10 from beyond the three-point arc. The Soaring Eagles cut Nazareth's lead to 54-34 by scoring the final seven points of the period as they strung together two layups and a three-point shot by David Nelson.

Nazareth continued its scorching shooting with a 22-6 scoring run in the first 6:56 of the second half to give the Golden Flyers a game-high 36-point lead, 76-40. The run was capped by steal by senior Corey McAdam, which resulted in a layup by sophomore Jason Corletta.

Eventually, Nazareth's shooting cooled down, (45 percent from the field in the second half) and Elmira cut into its deficit. The Golden Flyers' enormous lead, however, prevented the Soaring Eagles from getting back into the game. Elmira was only able to close to within 27 points, 86-59, with 2:23 to play in regulation. In the closing minutes, freshman Sean Fox connected on two three-point shots within 51 seconds to again extend the Golden Flyers' lead to over 30 points.

Nazareth finished shooting 59 percent (36-61) for the game, including 57 percent (12-21) on three-point shots. Nazareth's defense held Elmira to 39 percent shooting from the field. The Golden Flyers also held a 37-28 rebounding advantage, and scored 23 points off the Soaring Eagles' 14 turnovers.

In addition to the 27 points that Stephens tallied, Nazareth received 20 points from McAdam and 19 points from Corletta. Sophomore Phil Scaffidi and Fox each added eight points while sophomore Jake Fladd finished with seven points. McAdam also had a game-high 12 assists.

For the Soaring Eagles, Bobby DiPiazza and Jon Adamson scored 15 points and 11 points, respectively. Adamson also had a team-high five rebounds, and Bryan Mathews finished with five assists.

The Golden Flyers are in action again Sunday when they host Utica in an Empire 8 conference game beginning at 2 p.m.