The Ithaca College men’s basketball team defeated the Rochester Institute of Technology 77–61 and also earned an 82–67 win against St. Lawrence University. However, the Bombers were unable to beat all three Liberty League Conference teams this week with an 72–85 loss to Clarkson University on Jan. 13.
In the matchup against RIT, senior guard Marc Chasin led the way for the Blue and Gold with 22 points. Junior forward Peter Ezema contributed a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. While freshman guard Cooper Macklin did not score, he led the Bombers in assists with six.
Both teams struggled from behind the three-point arc, as the South Hill squad went 4-of-17 and the Tigers went 3-of-12.
The highlight of the game was the Bombers’ defense. The Blue and Gold scored 29 points off 23 of the Tigers’ turnovers.
The first half started out even for both teams as there were five lead changes in the first half. It was not until the second half that the Bombers began to pull away when they secured a double digit lead with 7:38 left in the second half and continued to keep the lead until the end.
After the RIT game, the Bombers faced St. Lawrence University on Jan. 12. Sophomore guard Riley Thompson paved the way with 27 points while making 50 percent of his three pointers.
The Blue and Gold starters combined to score 61 of the teams 82 points. Besides Thompson, junior guard Matt Flood and Macklin also contributed to the win, scoring 12 and 11, respectively.
The South Hill squad scored the first points of the game and never gave up the lead. Early in the second half, the Saints pulled within two points, but the Bombers went on an 8–2 run to give the college a demanding lead.
The Saints were led by junior forward Ben Crawford, who matched Thompson’s scoring with 27. Crawford and the starting five combined for 55 of their teams total 67 points.
The win over St. Lawrence earned head coach Jim Mullins the top spot on the all-time wins list. With 308 wins, Mullins is now the winningest coach in Bombers history.
In the Bombers final matchup of the week, Clarkson University came out on top.
The Golden Knights finished the game shooting 50 percent from the field while going 10-of-26 in three-point attempts. The Blue and Gold finished shooting 39.4 percent while going 6-of-25 shots from behind the arc.
The South Hill squad went into halftime with a 36–35 lead, but allowed the Golden Knights to score 50 second half points en route to the Bombers’ fourth loss of the year. The Blue and Gold are now 10–4 overall with a 5–2 record in the Liberty League Conference.
The Bombers next game is against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 8 p.m. on Jan. 19 in Ben Light Gymnasium.
