Senior center Phil Barera tied a career-high with 33 points and the men’s basketball team defeated SUNY-Cortland 84–75 in Cortland Wednesday night.
Barerra was efficient, converting on 16-of-18 field goal attempts. The South Hill squad converted on 52 percent of their shots, including 62 percent shooting in the second half.
Three other Bombers also recorded double digits in points. Junior guard Marcus Jordan and sophomore forward Andrei Oztemel each added 12 and sophomore guard Sean Rossi scored 10 to go along with 14 assists.
After falling behind by three early in the game, the Bombers caught fire, going on an 14–4 run over the last 5:52 of the first half to take a seven point lead into halftime.
The Bombers went ahead by as many as 18 after Barera and senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas took the Bombers on an 8–2 run with 8:41 left in the second half.
The Red Dragons cut the lead to 75–68 with 2:37 remaining. Following a Bomber timeout, Rossi drilled a three-pointer to put the game away.
Barera and Oztemel also added double-doubles for the Blue and Gold, recording 12 and 10 rebounds respectively.
The Bombers continue their season tomorrow against St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.
