The Ithaca College men’s basketball team defeated the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers 92–71 Feb. 7 in the Ben Light Gymnasium.
The Bombers were led by graduate student forward Luka Radovich, who recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds for his third consecutive double-double. Sophomore guard Logan Wendell recorded 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, while graduate student guard Zach Warech added 11 points and five rebounds.
The Tigers were led by junior guard Matt Caggiano who had 14 points and four rebounds. Senior forward Kevin Ryan added 13 points, seven rebounds and one steal.
The Bombers came out firing on all cylinders, starting the game by taking a 6–0 lead thanks to two beautiful 3-pointers from Warech in the first two minutes.
The Bombers continued to show off their range from the 3-point line, but also showed they were a threat inside the paint. With 16:08 left in the first half, Wendell attacked the basket from the left, fighting under one defender and over another to put home a tough and-one to make the Bombers lead 11–4.
Even while being down, the Tigers certainly were not out yet. With 11:43 remaining in the first half, junior guard Mark Osime hit an open 3-pointer to narrow the Bombers’ lead to 18–15.
Radovich and the Bombers didn’t let the lead stay tight for long. The Bombers extended their lead and with 7:48 remaining in the first half, Radovich drove to the basket and hit an and-1 layup to make the lead 32–22.
Graduate student guard Skylar Sinon decided to show off his deep facilitating skill set as the game entered the latter part of the first half. Sinon started the show with a behind the back bounce pass to Radovich, which led to a layup making the score 47–32. Sinon followed this with another behind the back pass, this time setting up Wendell for an open corner 3-pointer, giving the Bombers a 51–32 lead with 2:14 remaining in the first half.
The Bombers entered the half touting a 55–34 lead.
It didn’t get much better for the Tigers in the second half. With 17:15 remaining in the game, Radovich missed a contested layup, grabbed an offensive rebound, and made a putback layup while being fouled. Radovich converted the free throw and made the Bombers’ lead 60–38.
The Bombers continued to pour it on and with 12:53 remaining, Sinon broke into a fastbreak, firing the ball to open first-year student forward Gavin Schauder, who finished the play with a ferocious two-hand jam to make the Bombers’ lead 70–46.
The Tigers would finally submit and the Bombers would run out the clock, securing a 92–71 victory.
After a great offensive showing, head coach Waleed Farid acknowledged how well the team performed.
“[The offense] looks great,” Farid said. “That’s how we should be playing everyday, fast, sharing the ball, not caring about who gets the shots or who gets the points, just making sure teams have to chase us around, that’s when we’re at our best.”
With the team going into a four game road stint to end the season, Farid expressed how tough it’s going to be.
“We need to get ready, it’s going to be really tough,” Farid said. “Clarkson and St. Lawrence are probably the two best teams that are playing the best basketball right now in our league, so we’ll rest and start preparing for them, but it’s not gonna be easy to win on the road, especially at those places. … We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
The Bombers improved their record to 15–6 and 11–3 in Liberty league play. They will next play at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 at Clarkson University.
