The Elmira Express will be playing in front of their home fans against the Binghamton Patriots at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Elmira will be strutting in after a victory while the Patriots will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Friday, Elmira didn't have too much breathing room in their contest against the Little Red, but they still walked away with a 57-52 victory. Given Elmira's advantage in MaxPreps' New York basketball rankings (they are ranked 235th, while the Little Red are ranked 530th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Elmira found their leader in underclassman Mariah Matias, who dropped a double-double on 31 points and 21 rebounds. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Matias has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Laila Burchard, who scored ten points along with five rebounds and four steals.
Meanwhile, Binghamton's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Friday after their fifth straight loss. They were dealt a 79-47 defeat at the hands of Johnson City. Binghamton has not had much luck with the Wildcats recently, as the team's come up short the last two times they've met.
The win got Elmira back to even at 8-8. As for Binghamton, their defeat dropped their record down to 1-6.
Elmira came up short against the Patriots when the teams last played back in February of 2023, falling 69-59. Can Elmira avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
