Ithaca, Stevens Light up Scoreboard in 2OT Thriller

2/14/2015 10:01:31 PM

STEVENS 125, Ithaca 120 2OT

ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball lost a heart breaker to the Stevens Institute of Technology Saturday evening, falling to the Ducks in double overtime by a score of 125-120 on Senior Day at Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers' record moves to 11-12 overall, including a mark of 8-6 in the Empire 8. Stevens improves to 11-12 overall and 7-7 in conference play.  

The Bombers hit 40-of-105 shots from the floor, giving them a shooting percentage of 38.1 in the double overtime contest. Ithaca hit 18-of-52 (34.6 percent) shots from beyond the arc, and 22-of-25 (88.0 percent) shots from the charity stripe.

Six Bombers scored in double figures, led by freshman Marc Chasin's career-high 38 points. Junior Sam Bevan recorded a triple-double, recording 11 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists. Bevans' effort marks just the second triple double in school history, and the first since Sean Burton accomplished the feat in a game against RIT on Jan. 1, 2009.

Senior Keefe Gitto secured his ninth double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 boards. Sophomore Joe Masino recorded 18 points in reserve for the Bombers, while senior Max Masuccinetted 12 points in 33 minutes of work. Freshman Carroll Rich rounded out the top scorers with 10 points, pairing with six rebounds on the night.

Ithaca came out on fire in the opening half, as back-to-back three pointers from Bevan and Masucci gave the Bombers the early 6-0 advantage. The momentum carried for Ithaca, with the Bombers taking a 17-5 lead over the Ducks just six minutes into the game.

An 11-2 run from Stevens brought the Ducks back to within striking distance, with the Bombers holding a one possession lead at 19-16 with 12 minutes to go in the half. That would be as close as Stevens would come in the opening frame, thanks to an impressive 32-point outburst from the Bombers to close the half. The Bombers outscored Stevens 32-21 in the final 12 minutes, sending Ithaca into the break with a 51-37 lead.

Ithaca led by as much as 19 in the second half, going up by a score of 70-51 with 13:31 to play. Stevens would close the gap on Ithaca, outscoring the Bombers by a 40-21 margin throughout the remainder of frame. The Ducks outscored Ithaca by a total of 54-40 in the second half, and managed to tie the contest in the final 15 seconds to send the game to overtime.

The Ducks jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first bonus session, pushing ahead of the Bombers by a score of 104-96 with just over one minute remaining. Ithaca answered with an 11-3 run to close out the first overtime. Masucci scored the first five points in the rally, before Chasin sunk three free throws in a row to pull back to within one of the Ducks.

Two free throws from Stevens in the next possession pushed its lead back to three in the closing moments. With just 12 seconds to go in the first overtime, Masino took a feed from classmate Carlin Champion, and sunk a three pointer to tie the contest at 107-107. Stevens was unable to answer, sending the game to a second overtime.    

Unfortunately for the Bombers, they were unable to keep pace in the second bonus session. The Ducks outscored Ithaca 18-13, giving Stevens the 125-120 double overtime victory.  

The game marked the final regular season home game for Bomber seniors Keefe Gitto and Max Masucci, as well as senior manager Joey Gallagher.

ELMIRA 80, Hartwick 65

Elmira, NY -- The Elmira College men's basketball team made it a weekend sweep with an 80-65, wire-to-wire victory over Hartwick College. The victory puts EC squarely into the Empire 8 Playoff picture as they are now 6-7 in conference play and are just one loss behind Ithaca College for the fourth, and final, playoff spot.
 
The five seniors on this year's team, David Borelli '15, Tyler Dibble'15, Brian McDonald '15, Jake Metcalf '15, and Neil Randolph '15 were honored pre-game and then announced as starters for this afternoon's game. They helped set the tone early for the Soaring Eagles on both ends of the floor as their defensive intensity, as well as their ability to knock-down shots against the Hartwick defense increased, the confidence of every player on the Elmira bench.
 
That confidence helped EC exploit the Hawks' 2-3 zone to the tune of 16 made three-pointers and 18 offensive rebounds, both of which are season-highs. The 16 made three-pointers also matches the most made threes in a single game over the last 14 years and increases Elmira's season total to 200 made three-pointers. The 200 made threes breaks a 16-year old record for three-pointers made in a season, surpassing the 197 three-pointers made by the 1998-99 edition of the Purple and Gold.
 
Leading the Purple and Gold in scoring, once again, was Randolph, who poured-in a game-high 24 points. The Wicklow, Ireland native, who was playing in front of his parents for the first time in his four-year career, did not disappoint, playing 36 of 40 minutes, shooting 8-of-15 from the floor, including 6-of-12 from three-point range, while also adding three rebounds and two assists in the victory.
 
The other seniors on this year's team also contributed in one way or another. Dibble and McDonald each scored five points, Dibble added three rebounds and recorded EC's only steal of the game, while McDonald handed out three assists. Metcalf started out the game with two assists, finding both McDonald and Randolph for open three-pointers. Finally, Borelli scored four points and grabbed six rebounds while helping limit Hartwick's best big man, Matt Wilson, to just eight points and one rebound.
 
In addition to Randolph's 24 points, three other Soaring Eagles, Oladapo Badmos '17, Hayden Harkins '18, and Justin Henderson '16, scored in double-figures. Badmos had one of the most efficient games of his two-year career, scoring 15 points and handing out six assists, while posting just one turnover. Harkins was lights-out from downtown in the first half, hitting four three-pointers, all from well beyond the three-point arc, for his 12 points. Henderson did not have his normal shooting display, only hitting 2-of-10 from three-point range, but he still fought his way to a 10-point and eight-rebound stat line in 25 minutes of action.

UTICA 87, Houghton 80

UTICA, NY - The Utica College men's basketball team won its second straight game on Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers topped host Houghton College 87-80 in Empire 8 Conference action. Junior guard Robert Tutein (Nanuet, NY/Nanuet) netted a career-high 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor to pace the Pioneers. Agim Hamiti (Prishtina, Kosovo/Syracuse Academy of Science), Ivan Iton (Ossining, NY/Ossining) and Conor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) each added nine points as UC improved its overall record to 10-14 and 6-9 in the E8.

The Highlanders opened the contest on an 8-0 run in the first 2:38 until the Pioneers rattled off an outstanding 21 consecutive points to take a 21-8 lead at the 11:36 marker of the first half. Houghton continued to battle and cut its deficit to 40-37 at the half.

Houghton took a two point advantage early in the second half until the Pioneers went on a 14-2 run to take a commanding 10 point lead, 56-46, with 13:15 to go in the contest.

The Pioneers were able to cling to a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half, including their largest lead of the game (16 points) with 2:03 left, and they went on to earn a seven point victory.

Utica senior classmates Ian Henderson (Chateaugay, NY/Chateaugay) and Rich Smith (Albany, NY/La Salle Institute) combined for 14 points and Griffin Kelly (Watervliet, NY/Watervliet) added six points off the bench for the Pioneers.

UC was stellar from the free throw line with a 26-for-32 effort in the victory. Tutein led the way with an 8-for-12 showing from the charity stripe.

Brandon Camacho netted 17 points for the Highlanders, while Jordan Scott chipped in with a team-best 21 points off the bench. Houghton's' record moved to 5-19 overall and 1-14 in the conference.

ST. JOHN FISHER 71, Nazareth 51

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's basketball program clinched the Empire 8 Conference regular-season title on Saturday, as the Cardinals posted a 71-51 win over East-Avenue rival Nazareth College on Senior Day.

With the win, No. 17 Fisher improves to 20-2 on the year and 13-0 in the Empire 8 Conference.  The Cardinals will be the top seed in the Empire 8 Championship and will host the four-team tournament on February 27-28.  The winner of the Empire 8 Championship will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.

The victory marks Fisher's 18th consecutive win – the third-longest winning streak in the program's 52-year history.  It is also the 15th time in the program's history the Cardinals have reached the 20-win plateau and the seventh time in head coach Rob Kornaker's 14-year career.

Fisher jumped out to a 43-19 lead after shooting 64.3% (18-for-28) from the floor over the game's opening 20 minutes and led by as many as 27 points early in the second half.

Keegan Ryan led Fisher 16 points and 10 rebounds, marking his ninth double-double of the year.

Stefan Bock finished with 16 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Chaz Lott tallied nine points, six boards and four assists, while Zach Ottaway and Optimystik Kinard also each scored nine.

ALFRED 90, SUNY Canton 71

ALFRED, NY—Sophomore sensation Tyler Seelman (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) and the Saxons sent their senior home with a win on Senior Night in the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena Saturday evening.
 
Seelman shot lights out on Senior Night, eclipsing his career-high mark with 31 points, hitting 11-of-18 (61.1%) from the field with six made three-pointers.  Freshman forward Kevin McFall (Hatboro, PA/Upper Moreland) also bid adieu to the seniors in style with 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting while collecting six rebounds. 
 
The game began as a frantic sprint with the five Alfred University seniors in the game against the high intensity offense of the Kangaroos.  The combination of seniors Dalton Walsh (Stockton, NY/Cassadega Valley), Ryan Mahon (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta), Tim Pacheco (Mt. Pocono, PA/Pocono Mountain East), Mike Snyder (Pulaski, NY/Pulaski) andJonathan Ruffin (Copiague, NY/Copiague) were able to jump out to a five-point lead 3:31 into the game when Snyder dropped a shot from behind the arc.  However, the Kangaroos would regroup and grab a lead just less than two minutes later.
 
The rest of the half was seemed to be controlled by Canton until McFall tied the game with an old-fashioned three-point play with 2:57 to go in the half.  Walsh followed up the freshman with a play of his own to grab the lead on a fast break layup.  The Saxons would jump out to a six-point lead heading into the locker room.
 
To start the second period the Saxons maintained a constant margin on the Kangaroos, until approximately midway through the half when Canton's Sam Annorh dropped a long ball to grab the lead. Seelman quickly answered with a trey of his own and put AU back on top by two with 10:47 to go in the contest. 
 
Two minutes after taking the lead back from Canton, AU went on a four minute 18-5 run, taking a 13-point lead.  Down the final stretch the Saxons were able to capitalize on free chances from the charity stripe to give them a 90-71 advantage to close the game.
 
Walsh ended his evening with his eighth double-double of the season, and second in-a-row, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Pacheco followed up his senior classmate with 10 points and six assists.  Mahon scored seven points while dishing out four assists as Snyder matched with seven of his own.
 
The Saxons move to 15-7 overall and remain at 8-5 in the Empire 8.  AU remains at home for a contest against St. John Fisher College on Tues. February 17th.