Bombers Clinch Tournament Spot With Biggest Win Over RIT In 47 Years
ITHACA, N.Y. -- The men's basketball team (18-5, 11-3 Empire 8) continued its streak as the only team to qualify for every Empire 8 Championship Tournament, securing a bid with a 93-61 win over visiting Rochester Institute of Technology (10-13, 7-7 Empire 8). The win was Ithaca's biggest over the Tigers since 1964. The Bombers travel to Hartwick and Stevens Friday and Saturday and can clinch the conference tournament's top seed with a pair of wins.
Ithaca had a pair tally double-doubles for the second consecutive game as senior center Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.) recorded a game-high 16 rebounds and added 13 points and sophomore forward Andre Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) chipped in 13 points and a career-high 12 boards.
Junior guard Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) drained a game-high 21 points and senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) added 15 for the Bombers. Sophomore guard Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) led all action with nine assists, while also adding nine points.
Ithaca, who hit 14 treys on the night, put four or more in double figures for the 21st time this season.
The advantage bounced back-and-forth over the opening five minutes of action until a Marcus three-pointer at the 15-minute mark put the Bombers ahead. The Tigers dwindled Ithaca’s four-point lead to knot the game for the fourth and final time at 13:28, but a 10-0 run solidified Ithaca’s lead indefinitely.
RIT twice cut its deficit to single digits, but the Bombers outscored the visiting squad 19-9 over the final 5:14 of the first frame to take a commanding 50-31 lead into intermission.
The second stint mirrored much of the first as Ithaca outplayed the Tigers who shot just 21.9 percent in the second period. The teams went bucket-for-bucket early but Ithaca’s shooting accuracy and rebounding efforts helped but the game away down the stretch.
The Tigers pulled back within 19 on a duo of baskets, but Ithaca responded with 11 of the next 13 points. Ithaca cleared its bench to outlast RIT, 23-10, over the final eight minutes of action en route to winning its third straight game.
The Bombers outrebounded the Tigers, 52-39, and hit 45.5 percent of their shots to RIT’s 29.9 percent.
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