Bombers Dominate Hawks, Soar to 91-69 Empire 8 Victory
Oneonta, N.Y. – The Ithaca men’s basketball team (19-5, 12-3 Empire 8) placed five in double figures en route to a crucial 91-69 victory over host Hartwick (14-10, 9-6 Empire 8). The Bombers will next travel to Stevens to vie for the Empire 8 tournament top seed and regular-season title on Saturday, Feb. 19 in a 4 p.m. game.
Senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) led the Bombers with a career- and game-high 18 boards, while adding 11 points for his seventh double-double of the 2010-11 campaign. Classmate and center Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.) drained a game-best 17 points.
Junior guard Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) chipped in 16 points, sophomore forward Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) added 15 and freshman guard Miles Grier (Druid Hills/Lilburn, Ga.) 12 as the Bombers placed four or more in double figures for the 22nd time this season.
A Marcus three-pointer gave the Blue & Gold the lead indefinitely at the 12:24 mark of the first frame as Ithaca used a balanced attack on 47.4 percent shooting to win its fourth consecutive contest.
The squads went bucket-for-bucket over the opening six minutes before Marcus’ three tipped-off a 24-7 run that implemented a comfortable Ithaca advantage -- one that the visitors held for the remainder of the game. The Hawks twice fought back within nine, but Rossi and Oztemel layups helped the Bombers to a 46-33 gap at the break.
A commanding 12-2 run helped Ithaca to a 58-35 lead just 2:34 into the second stint. The Bombers maintained a steady advantage until a jumper and trio of Hartwick threes brought the Hawks within 13 at 9:24. Ithaca answered with nine of its own to take a 77-55 lead before clearing its bench and increasing the difference to 28 points on a trey by junior guard Joe Zenz (Our Lady of Lourdes/Poughkeepsie) at 3:21. The Bombers rode out the waning minutes to claim the 91-69 road victory.
Ithaca has now won 11 of its last 12 matchups with the Hawks and 25 of the last 28. Hartwick most recently claimed a 100-96 overtime victory against the Bombers earlier this season.
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