The Ithaca College men’s basketball team lost in a close game to the Utica Pioneers 74–75 on the road Feb. 14. The South Hill squad drops to 8–16 overall and 4–11 in Empire 8 play with the loss.

The Bombers led the Pioneers 42–35 after the first half, but were outscored in the second half 32–40. The Pioneers shot just above 50 percent for the second half, compared to the Bomber’s 44 percent second half shooting.

Leading in scoring for the South Hill squad was freshman guard Riley Thompson who put up 18 points. This was Thompson’s fifth straight game posting double digit points, continuing his strong play for the Bombers in the second half of the season. Sophomore guard Matt Flood chipped in 16 for the South Hill Squad and played for 24 minutes. Utica’s junior forward Ivan Iton led in points for the game with 21.

The Bombers will close their season against Houghton College at 8 p.m. Feb. 16 in Ben Light Gymnasium.