The Ithaca College men’s basketball team defeated the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds 75–56 on Senior Day Feb. 4 in the Ben Light Gymnasium.
The Bombers were led by sophomore guard Logan Wendell, who recorded 16 points, three rebounds and one steal. Graduate student forward Luka Radovich recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double, while senior guard Liam Spellman added 11 points and six rebounds.
The Thoroughbreds were led by senior guard Riley Greene who had 16 points, five assists and four rebounds. Senior guard Tautvydas Kupstas added 10 points and a pair of rebounds.
The Bombers got off to a slow start as the Thoroughbreds took a 4–0 lead with 18:15 remaining in the first half thanks to two successful jumpers from Greene.
Wendell answered for the Bombers, scoring a reverse layup to open the Bombers scoring and hitting a 3-pointer off a feed from Spellman to make the game 6–5 Thoroughbreds at the 16:24 mark. A minute later, Wendell added a step back two in the left corner to make the game 9–7 Thoroughbreds.
The Thoroughbreds made three straight 3-point shots following the explosion by Wendell and led 15–7 with 14:30 remaining in the first half.
The Bombers did not let this lead stand for long. With 11:47 remaining in the first half, junior guard Andrew Geschickter stole the ball from sophomore Thoroughbred guard Jake Walsh and it led to a Radovich 3-pointer to give the Bombers a 17–15 lead.
The Bombers and Thoroughbreds hit a dry spell at the 7–minute mark, neither team being able to score until four minutes later when Spellman received a no-look pass from graduate student guard Skylar Sinon and buried a 3-pointer from the corner to make the Bombers’ lead 25–20.
The Thoroughbreds tightened up the score at the end of the half and the Bombers went into halftime leading only 31–29.
With 18:33 remaining in the game, Spellman grabbed an offensive rebound and fired it out to graduate student guard Zach Warech, who hit an open 3-pointer from the corner to open the second half’s scoring and make the Bombers’ lead 34–29.
The Bombers continued to rain it on the Thoroughbreds as they got out to a 44–34 lead with 16:01 remaining in the game after Wendell and Radovich combined for 10 points in just over two minutes.
With 11:31 remaining in the game, senior forward Jack Stern froze Kupstas in the air with a terrific pump fake and put in a layup to make it 55–41 Bombers.
The Bombers were in firm control of the game for the majority of the second half, but with under three minutes remaining, the finishing touches were added to the victory. At the 2:03 mark in the second half, the senior-to-senior connection was realized when Stern assisted Spellman for a layup that brought the Bombers’ lead to 72–53.
After the Bombers lost to the Thoroughbreds by one point earlier in the season, Spellman said that knew how important the dominant win was for the team.
“[The win was] very big for team comradery, for confidence, for the fans,” Spellman said. “It was really good to just be out there and get the win.”
With it being Senior Day, Spellman said that he has nothing but admiration for his team and the game.
“I love it, I love every part of it,” Spellman said. “It’s a joy and I couldn’t ask for anything else.”
The Bombers improved their record to 14–6 and 10–3 in the Liberty League. They will next play the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 7 in the Ben Light Gymnasium.
