Just under six minutes into the men’s basketball team’s game against Elmira College tonight in the Ben Light Gymnasium, the Bombers trailed the Soaring Eagles 12–2.

Keep in mind this was the same Ithaca squad that was averaging more than 82 points per game entering tonight. The same Ithaca squad that defeated Elmira 64–36 on Jan. 22. The same Ithaca squad that held a five and a half game lead over the Soaring Eagles in the Empire 8 standings.

But that’s why they play the games. And luckily for the Blue and Gold, basketball games last 40 minutes, not six.

Sparked by senior guard Dominic Scanlon’s 18-point second half, the Bombers rallied from a 37–32 halftime deficit to tally an 82–75 victory.

“Dom was huge,” junior forward Sean Leahy, who finished with 18 points and five rebounds, said. “He came in and gave us energy. He basically won us the game. He played so well and he was really the only one hitting his shots.”

Scanlon finished the game with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Scanlon said the normally hot-shooting Bombers struggled early on against an opponent they may have underestimated.

“We just came out flat,” Scanlon said. “We took them lightly and they’re a good enough team to play with us.”

Junior point guard Sean Burton finished with 14 points and five assists and junior center Jeff Bostic added another double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. But the Bombers’ inside defense struggled, allowing Elmira sophomore forward David Nelson countless layups and easy putbacks. Nelson finished with a game-high 30 points on 10-of-14 shooting, to go along with seven rebounds and one steal.

As a team, the Soaring Eagles shot 48 percent from the floor, including 44 percent from three-point range. Ithaca finished with 41 percent and 32 percent in those respective categories.

With his team lacking hustle and playing below their talent level, Head Coach Jim Mullins chose to simply read off the statistics at halftime and let them speak for themselves.

“We didn’t defend nearly as well as we did in the last game [against Elmira],” Mullins said. “The last game we put up some pretty impressive defensive numbers. It was a very disappointing first half. Dom Scanlon gave us a big lift, won us the game. I don’t know where we’d be without him.”

With the win, Ithaca improves to 13–8 overall and 8–4 in the Empire 8. Unfortunately for the South Hill squad, both Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College won Empire 8 contests tonight as well, keeping Ithaca stuck in fourth place in the conference.

With four games remaining, Mullins said his team must improve their defense, particularly in the post, if they hope to advance in the Empire 8 tournament.

“Our post defense has been pathetic,” Mullins said. “It’s been beyond disappointing. We’ve got to take something away from teams. I don’t have any magic formulas right now. It’s just going back to fundamentals.”

The next game for the men’s basketball team will take place at 8 p.m. Friday at Alfred University.