The Ithaca College men’s basketball team put together a complete performance to finish off the season sweep over the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds with a 77-64 win Feb. 7 in the Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers now sit at 12–7 and one game out of first place while Skidmore drops to 5–15 on the year.
The Bombers were led by sophomore guard Evan Cabral, who finished the night with 21 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Logan Wendell scored 14 points to go along with three steals. Sophomore guard Jaylon O’Neal poured in 12 points, six rebounds, one assist, and a block and a steal. After missing the last month with an injury, junior guard Cole Wissink made an instant impact off the bench, knocking down two 3-pointers and finishing the night with 10 points in 23 minutes.
After both teams exchanged a pair of missed field goals to open the game, Cabral got the scoring started with a strong drive to the rim. The Bombers jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, controlling the game for the full 40 minutes.
First-year center Chris Leysath set the tone in the paint early, grabbing an offensive rebound that led to a hard Skidmore foul. That sequence proved to be Skidmore’s Achilles’ heel all night because the Bombers dominated the glass with 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 26 second-chance points. On top of that, the Bombers went to the free-throw line 34 times, converting 24.
Senior guard Aidan Holmes found the bottom of the net for his first points of the game four minutes into the first half. Then, a Cabral 3-pointer, a Wendell steal and a beautiful Wissink-to-Cabral backdoor layup gave the Bombers an early 16-6 lead six minutes into the game.
Skidmore’s sophomore guards Charlie Weisberg and Dillon McCafferty helped keep the Thoroughbreds in the game, both drilling a pair of 3-pointers, bringing them within five points with just under 10 minutes to go in the first half. After a few missed shots and some layups by both teams, Skidmore’s sophomore guard Charlie Fanton caught fire, making three 3-pointers in three minutes, tying the game at 31 apiece. Cabral scored the next six points for the South Hill squad before Wendell went to the line twice as the Bombers led 41-35 at halftime.
Head coach Waleed Farid was impressed with the team’s execution, particularly on the defensive side.
“I think our defensive intensity was huge, something we were lacking last weekend, and we harped on [it],” Farid said.”So we played with a high energy, high effort. [We] played through mistakes, and we got the stops. We matched some of their physicality on the glass when we really needed to.”
The Bombers opened the second half with a full-court press, hoping to build on their strong finish to the first. After a sloppy first two minutes for the Bombers, Skidmore found itself right back in it, cutting the lead down to two.
That’s when the Wendell and Cabral show began.
The duo led the Bombers on a 9-0 run, pushing the lead back to double digits. Turning defense into offense — and offense into more offense — the team never looked back. Wissink started knocking down threes, Leysath dominated in the paint and O’Neal got to the rim with ease. The Bombers played beautiful team basketball in the second half.
The final blow came from sophomore forward Alex Penders’ offensive rebound and kickout to Aidan Holmes for his second three of the game. The Bombers took their largest lead of the game at 71-57 with 3:17 to play and never looked back, securing the double-digit victory.
Looking ahead, Farid emphasized the importance of carrying momentum into their next game.
“We got to take the win, celebrate it, get our rest, and then, mentally prepare for another really good game [Feb. 8],” Farid said. “If we can have a similar defensive intensity, we can put ourselves in a good spot.”
The Bombers will face off against Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 4 p.m. Feb. 8 in the Ben Light Gymnasium for Senior Day.
“Obviously, RPI is really talented, and they got the best of us the last time we played them,” Farid said. “So we just have to sit and prepare and make sure we’re fully focused, and locked in, and have the discipline we need to win a big game with it.”
