At 6-feet-7-inches tall, it’s hard to overlook junior forward Sean Leahy. But with a pair of first-team all-Empire 8 performers also playing on the men’s basketball team, it’s also become difficult for teams to focus their attention on him.

Case in point: The Bombers trailed Nazareth College 82–81 with less than a minute left in Saturday’s contest in the Ben Light Gymnasium. As junior point guard Sean Burton – one of those two first-team all-Empire 8 players – brought the ball up the court, junior center Jeff Bostic – the other – tried to get open underneath the basket. But the Golden Flyers focused their defensive pressure on the big-time duo.

After a series of screens and passes, junior guard Brendan Rogers found Leahy at the top of the three-point line wide open. Leahy used his height to shoot over the Nazareth defenders as they closed in on him. Rainbow arc, swish, Empire 8 Championship. “Mr. Clutch,” as sophomore forward Tom Brown appropriately dubbed him after the game, had done it again.

Rogers, who was credited with the game-winning assist, said he wasn’t specifically looking for Leahy but still found him open.

“Burton came off a ball screen, and we were just looking for the first best shot,” Rogers said. “He kicked it out, and I saw Leahy curling up to the top. And Leahy hits big shots.”

In the Blue and Gold’s 87–85 win against the Rochester Institute of Technology Jan. 19, Leahy drained a trio of three pointers in the final 23 seconds, including one as time expired, to give Ithaca the come-from-behind victory.

Leahy finished Saturday’s game with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, helping Ithaca overcome a 17-point halftime deficit in the biggest game of the season. With the win, the South Hill squad clinched the Empire 8 regular season championship and will now host the Empire 8 tournament for the first time in school history.

The previous night against No. 25 Stevens Institute of Technology, Leahy tallied 16 points and eight rebounds, while going four-of-seven from the three-point arc in Ithaca’s 93–82 win.

After Friday’s game, Stevens Head Coach Josh Loeffler said Leahy and the rest of the Bombers dominated with their transition offense.

“They really beat us in transition,” Loeffler said. “They continue to run, and they took care of the basketball. Secondly, they got some really key contributions from guys who either didn’t play great against us the first game or maybe have not have been touted as the high profile guys.”

The top-seeded Bombers, winners of five straight and 11 of their last 13, will face fourth-seeded and five-time defending conference champion St. John Fisher College tomorrow.

Ithaca Head Coach Jim Mullins said hosting this weekend’s tournament is a bonus but only the first step toward cliching the Bombers’ first trip to the NCAA tournament since the 2001-02 season.

“It’s nice, but all it means is we get to host,” Mullins said. “If you don’t go to the NCAAs, it just doesn’t mean that much, I think.”