Bombers Win Third Consecutive, Edge Hartwick, 73-71
Oneonta, N.Y. – The Ithaca men’s basketball team (6-8, 3-0 Empire 8) remained undefeated in conference play defeating host Hartwick (12-2, 1-2 Empire 8), 73-71, on Friday night.
Ithaca won its third consecutive contest, while handing the Hawks, who opened the season with 12 straight victories, their second loss in a row.
Despite a nine-point Ithaca advantage at 16:40 of the second, the game proved to be a tight battle down the stretch. Ithaca outscored Hartwick, 14-11, over the final 6:25 of the game that featured 10 lead changes, for the win.
Junior Sean Rossi (Sparta/Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) put up a team- and season-high 19 points, while sophomore Frank Mitchell (Hillsborough/Hillsborough, N.J.) chipped in 18. Rossi added six boards and four assists for the Bombers. Senior Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) had nine points and junior Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) eight. Marcus, Oztemel and junior Sinjin Wightman (New Paltz/New Paltz) each pulled down six rebounds.
After several possession changes to open the game, Ithaca claimed the lead at 10:33 on a Connor Rogers (Liverpool/Liverpool) three pointer. The Bombers took a seven-point lead less than a minute later as they polished off a 9-0 run. Hartwick inched its way back to knot the action, 31-31, at 2:25, but Ithaca scored five of the half’s final seven points to lead 36-33 at the break.
The Bombers dominated early in the second, taking a game-best nine-point lead at 16:40 with seven unanswered, but the Hawks were quick to make up ground. Just 1:29 later, Hartwick had cut it to a two-point game.
Possession bounced back-and-forth thrice before Ithaca ultimately secured it for good at 6:25. The Bombers scored six straight for a 65-60 lead at 5:19, but Hartwick again challenged, brining it within one at 2:12 and again at 1:19. Rossi drained a jumper at the one-minute mark to claim the Ithaca victory. The teams combined to miss five shots during the final 35 seconds of play.
Hartwick was a perfect 21-for-21 from the charity stripe, while Ithaca was 7-for-11. The Bombers sunk 47.5 percent of their shots to the Hawks’ 31.8 percent. Hartwick owned a 42-37 advantage on the glass.