Box Score
HOUGHTON, N.Y.- The Ithaca College men's basketball team (6-14) defeated Houghton (3-16) Tuesday evening, dropping the Highlanders by a score of 97-82 at the Nielsen Center.

Freshman Joe Masino scored a career-high 29 points in the victory, adding three rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes of play. Junior Keefe Gitto also had a big night offensively for the Bombers, as he scored a career-best 25 points to go along with nine rebounds and a block. Senior Tom Sweeney chipped in 14 points and led Ithaca with four blocked shots.

Ithaca went 31-of-56 from the floor, shooting an impressive 55.4 percent. The Bombers were 10-of-15 (66.7 percent) from beyond the arc, including a mark of 6-for-7 for Masino. Ithaca also went 25-of-30 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line.

Both teams led briefly in the early going before the host Highlanders jumped out to a five-point lead with 10:21 to go in the first half. Ithaca battled back, and tied the game on four different occasions over the next six minutes of play. Tied at 38-38 with 4:39 remaining in the first, the Bombers went on a 10-8 run to take a narrow 48-45 lead to the break.

Houghton made a slight run to open the second, taking a one point lead just under two minutes into the half. From that point on, Ithaca owned the second frame. The Bombers took a 51-49 advantage at 18:27 and never gave back the lead. Ithaca closed strong, taking its biggest lead (15 points) of the night into the final buzzer for the 97-82 victory.

The Bombers are back on the court this Friday, Feb. 7 in a conference battle with Nazareth at Ben Light Gymnasium. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.