Balanced Attack Helps Bombers Run Past Utica, 110-96, in Regular Season Finale
Utica, N.Y. -- The Ithaca College men's basketball team (12-13, 9-5 Empire 8) powered to a 110-96 victory at Utica (9-16, 5-9 Empire 8) on Saturday afternoon. The Bombers will travel to Hartwick on Friday, Feb. 24 to face either the host Hawks or second-seeded Stevens Institute of Technology in the conference semifinals. The Bombers did their part to secure the third seed, but await the outcome of the 8 p.m. St. John Fisher vs. Nazareth game. A Nazareth loss locks the Bombers into the third seed spot, while a Golden Flyer win would put Ithaca as the number four seed.
Ithaca’s 110 points are the most tallied since a 113-86 victory at Nazareth on Feb. 20, 2009 and the Bombers’ first 100-plus point game of the 2011-12 campaign. The Bombers entered the game averaging 73.0 points per game.
The Bombers shot 18-for-35 (51.4 percent) from three-point land to double as a school record. Ithaca also made 18 three pointers on Jan. 15, 2010 against Alfred.
Ithaca jumped out to a 21-point lead in the first, but the host Pioneers cut within six before the Bombers claimed an eight-point gap at intermission. After taking a double-digit lead in the latter half, Ithaca allowed Utica within five at the 12-minute mark, but went on to take an 18-point advantage and power to victory in its regular-season finale.
Sophomore Tom Sweeney put up a game- and career-high 32 points, while sophomore Frank Mitchell and junior Sean Rossi each tallied double-doubles. Mitchell’s came on 12 points and a game-high 10 boards and Rossi’s with a game-best 17 assists and 11 points. Junior Andrei Oztemel went 7-for-11 from three-point range for 21 points and senior Jordan Marcus was 6-for-9 from beyond the arc for 18 points.
Oztemel added seven rebounds and
Rossi six as the squads each grabbed 41 on the night.
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Ithaca held an early edge in the first before adding to a four-point lead with 16 unanswered to lead 45-25 at 8:47. The Bombers held its largest lead of the game, 50-29, at 6:43, but the Pioneers answered with a 19-4 run to bring the game within six with 50 seconds lingering in the half. A Sweeney layup closed out the first frame with Ithaca leading 56-48 at the break.
The Bombers held a steady lead in the opening seven minutes of the second, but eight straight Utica points and a four-minute Bomber scoring drought allowed the Pioneers within five. Ithaca responded to take an 18-point lead at 2:45 to coast to victory.
Ithaca shot 55.4 percent from the floor, while Utica drained 43.0 percent of its shots.