The Ithaca College men’s basketball team is now 5-10 and 4-4 in the Liberty League after a series of weekend conference matchups against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers and the Bard College Raptors on Jan. 16 and 17 at the Ben Light Gymnasium.
Game one:
The Bombers fell to the Engineers 88-73 on Friday evening, struggling to contain the Engineers down the lane, allowing 62 points in the paint. The Bombers also allowed a 63.8 field goal percentage, their second highest all season.
The Engineers are on the opposite end of the spectrum systemically from the Bombers, according to head coach Mike McSloy. The Engineers allow an average of 60.7 points per game, first in the Liberty League, while the Bombers allow an average 81.4, last in the conference.
“I think they’re very physical,” McSloy said. “I think they play in their system really well. I think they know who they are, and they have a lot of experience. When they jumped us pretty good at 22 points in the first eight minutes of the game, we kind of dug ourselves a hole, and it gets a team who’s that good defensively, it’s hard to make a comeback on them.”
With 11:57 left to play in the half and behind 22-13, open junior guard Jaylon O’Neal aired the ball from his hands on the top of the key, but it sailed short of the basket. The Engineers grabbed the rebound and steadily worked the perimeter. An RPI guard battled senior forward Laurence Brady inside, then slipped the ball to another RPI guard who snuck around the Bombers’ defender, who missed his assignment for an easy dunk. McSloy called a timeout, trailing by 11.
The Engineers were extremely effective all day in the paint, allowing scoring the most points inside all season. The Bombers press system often left the Engineers with an open lane, leading to 18 fast-break points and 26 points off turnovers.
While McSloy explained his system will naturally allow more paint points, he took accountability for his team.
“Ultimately, we got to do a better job of guarding the ball in the half court,” McSloy said. “We allowed 62 paint points … that’s just unacceptable. We’ve got to do a better job of guarding the ball. We’ve got to do a better job of not losing colors off the ball.”
The Bombers went into the locker room at halftime behind 47-35, leading only 20 seconds of the first 20 minutes.
The Engineers stayed cool and collected and played another strong half of basketball. They forced the Bombers into a 17 point deficit, 71-54, with 8:58 left in the game.
With the clock ticking down, the Engineers exposed the press and the physical exhaustion. During a throw-in, an RPI forward saw an opportunity and raced the Bombers’ defense down the court. RPI launched the ball down towards him, then took two steps to the rim for a seamless layup, igniting the Engineers’ bench.
The 2024-25 Liberty League Champions fell to the Engineers 88-73 in a rematch of the title game.
Game two:
The Bombers defeated the Bard College Raptors by 54 points 116-62 Saturday afternoon, their second largest point differential victory in IC program history. Their offense thrived, shooting 58.6% and hitting 18 3-pointers. The Bombers also scored the most points in a game since the 2021-22 season.
Within 35 seconds of the game start, the Bombers received the rebound and quickly moved to the opposite side of the court. Junior guard Evan Cabral motioned to shoot a three, but stayed composed and assisted junior forward Matthew Zenker, who found himself unguarded in the blown coverage and hit a flawless three.
The Bombers ended the night with 29 assists, their highest of the season by 12. McSloy credited his team for going out of their way to make the extra passes.
“I thought we did a really good job of turning down decent shots to get great shots,” McSloy said. “I thought we did a really good job of moving the ball … we had to show the discipline to pass those [half contested shots] to get even better shots. And I think we did that. And I think when the threes went a little bit early, it kind of opened everything up for us.”
The Bombers ended the night with an impressive 52.9 3-point percentage.
The Bombers opened up the game 8-0, forcing an early timeout by Bard. The Bombers, pressing hard, forced a steal in the middle of the floor. Sophomore forward Chris Leysath and Zenker immediately recognized an opportunity, leading Zenker to the rim all by himself.
Zenker finished as the game’s leading scorer with 19 and hit 8 for 8 for a perfect shooting day.
Halfway through the first half, the Bombers had already proved their dominance over the Raptors. Sophomore guard Thomas McKiernan threw fuel into the fire and contributed nine points in just over a minute by shooting three from the arc. The Bombers ended the half already on top by 30, up 57-27.
The Bombers continued to build on the lead, and the Raptors made mental mistakes. With 7:01 left, junior guard Jose Padilla pushed down the lane and worked inside the rim, making a statement and leaving much frustration in the faces of the Raptors.
The South Hill squad took the largest lead of the night 107-48 with 5:36 on the clock, before ending the night 116-62. After a tough loss the night prior, McSloy said he was proud of his team.
“We’re just a team who’s just trying to grow and get better,” McSloy said. “[RPI] was a step backwards … [but] the guys had a positive outlook. They shared the ball really well. We took good shots. We made a lot of shots, and overall, I just thought our energy was a little bit better today.”
The Bombers will head on a stretch of four away games before returning to the Ben Light Gymnasium on Feb. 6. On Feb. 13 and 14, they will play another weekend double header against RPI and Bard away.
