#22 Bombers Thwart Stevens, 73-68; Maintain First-Place Standing in E8
ITHACA, N.Y. – The 22nd-ranked Ithaca men’s basketball team (13-3, 6-1 Empire 8) gave up a 19-point lead and allowed Stevens Institute of Technology (10-4, 4-2 Empire 8) within two of tying-up the game, but held on late for a 73-68 victory over the Ducks on Friday night at Ben Light Gymnasium.
The Bombers opened play with four unanswered and went on to tally 12 straight points before adding to it for an 18-2 stint that implemented a 19-point lead at the 7:23 mark of the first frame. Ithaca maintained a double-digit lead until eight consecutive from the Ducks brought the game to 40-32 at 1:42. A three from junior guard Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) helped reinstate an 11-point gap, but a late Stevens jumper brought the score to 43-34 at intermission.
Ithaca edged Stevens 19-14 during the first 10 minutes of the second period, but it was in the final 10 minutes that the Ducks challenged for the lead. Stevens used a 14-4 run, broken up only by a pair of buckets in the paint from senior center Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.), to bring the game within six at the seven-minute mark.
The Bombers extended it to eight as senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) drained a pair from the charity stripe, but the Ducks continued to chip away at their deficit. Barera responded to six straight from Stevens with a layup to make it a four-point game at 2:56, but again the visiting squad inched within two, 70-68.
Cruz-Rivas, who went 7-for-8 at the foul line, hit three of his free throws in the waning seconds of the game to put it of reach as Ithaca held on to its first-place standing in the Empire 8.
Barera led all scorers with 20 and backed it with 13 boards for his second straight double-double. He also swatted away a game-high two blocks. Cruz-Rivas added 15 points on the night, while Marcus and senior guard Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) tallied 12 and 10, respectively. Rossi, who leads the nation in assists, dished out a contest-best eight.
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