Bombers Claim First Victory of the Season; Defeat Otterbein 70-60
Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The Ithaca men's basketball team (1-4) defeated Otterbein (1-3), 70-60, in the consolation game of the Radisson Carnegie Mellon Invitational on Sunday to pick up its first win of the 2011-12 season. Sophomore Frank Mitchell (Hillsborough/Hillsborough, N.J.) was named to the all-tournament team.
Otterbein controlled first-half play as it held a 10-point advantage on three occasions, but five unanswered pulled Ithaca within four at intermission, 32-28. The Bombers’ streak bridged the break as they put away an additional 10 straight for a 15-0 run. With a 38-32 lead at 17:34 Ithaca secured the lead indefinitely. Ithaca outscored the Cardinals 42-28 in the latter frame.
Junior Sinjin Wightman (New Paltz/New Paltz) tallied a career- and game-high 18 points and fell just one rebound shy of his first career double-double with a team- best nine rebounds. Junior Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) tallied 16 points, while senior Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) had 13.
Junior Sean Rossi(Sparta/Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) dished out a game-high 10 assists. Mitchell had eight boards and three blocks for the Bombers.
Following a 7-7 tie at the 18-minute mark, Otterbein drained a three to gain possession of the first half. The Cardinals took a 10-point lead at 9:48 on a 7-0 run while holding the Bombers scoreless for over four minutes. Trailing by nine with 2:18 lingering in the first stint, Marcus and Wightman pieced together five straight to cut the deficit to 32-28 at the half.
The Ithaca tandem of Oztemel and Wightman tallied 10 consecutive, helped by three Rossi assists, to take charge of the second. The Cardinals brought the game within three at 15:15, but Ithaca recorded six straight and 14 of the next 20 points to claim a double-digit lead at 10:29.
Otterbein again made it a one-possession game at 8:41, 54-51. Ithaca secured an eight-point cushion on a Marcus three one minute later and scored seven of the game’s final nine points down the stretch to earn the victory.
Ithaca shot 47.1 percent from the floor, while Otterbein hit just 33.8 percent of its shots.