Bombers Strafe Stevens' Nationally Ranked Defense To Win E8 Regular-Season Title In 96-74 Rout
Hoboken, N.J. -- The Ithaca men's basketball team (20-5, 13-3 Empire 8) clinched the Empire 8 regular-season title and the top seed in next weekend's Empire 8 Championship Tournament with a 96-74 romp over host Stevens (19-6, 12-4 Empire 8 ) Saturday. The Bombers, who shot 52 percent from the floor against a Stevens defense that ranked eighth nationally, will host the fourth seed (either Hartwick or St. John Fisher) Friday at 8 p.m.
Claiming its third consecutive 20-win season, Ithaca jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as the Bombers cruised to their fifth straight victory. Ithaca, who led by as many as 28 points, placed five in double figures for the 12th time this season.
Sophomore guard Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) drained a career- and game-high 24 points, highlighted by six three-pointers, and added seven assists to lead the Bombers. Sophomore forward Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) chipped in 19 points, while freshman guard Miles Grier (Druid Hills/Lilburn, Ga.) added 16 points and nine boards.
Senior center Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.) contributed 12 points for the Blue and Gold, while classmate and guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) notched his second straight double-double and eighth of the season pulling down a game-best 14 rebounds and adding 10 points.
A Barera jumper opened all scoring and an 8-3 run that put the Bombers ahead early. Rossi hit one of the Bombers’ 13 treys at the 13-minute mark to claim a double-digit lead, 22-12, that Ithaca never surrendered. Rossi sunk 14 of Ithaca’s 16 points en route to a 35-18 advantage at 7:28.
Six unanswered Stevens points allowed the host team back within 13 at 2:27, but the Bombers scored 10 of the final 12 points in the half to claim a solid 54-33 lead at intermission.
Ithaca maintained its gap through the duration of the game. Seven straight points gave the Bombers its largest lead of the game, 75-47, at 11:36, before Stevens surged to bring the game within 19 at 8:01. Ithaca regrouped to outlast the Ducks and secure its third consecutive 90-point contest with a 96-74 final verdict.
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