The Ithaca College men’s basketball team sits at .500 in Liberty League play after falling to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 82–79 Jan. 18 in Troy, New York.

The Bombers saw strong scoring outputs from junior guards Sebastian Alderete and Riley Thompson, who put up 25 and 24 points respectively. The backcourt duo continued their solid play, as they are currently top two scorers on the team overall.

The game’s leading scorer was RPI senior guard Tom Horvat who contributed 28 points for the Engineers and grabbed eight rebounds in the process.

Rebounding played a large part in the final score, as RPI outrebounded the Blue and Gold 44–34, leading to 14 second-chance points for the Engineers.

The Bombers made a late push after going down by double digits with 4:07 to play. Alderete and Thompson traded scores in the final 1:05 to bring the South Hill squad within one point of RPI.

The comeback effort fell short after a couple of missed chances in the final seconds, securing the victory for the Engineers.

The Blue and Gold are 8–7 on the season following the loss. They are back in action for a Liberty League matchup at 3 p.m. Jan. 19 against Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.