Oswego, N.Y. – Senior Jim Bellis (Bloomfield/Bloomfield Central) scored a basket with four seconds left to lead the seventh-seeded Bombers past sixth-seeded Brockport 77-75 in the ECAC Upstate New York semifinals. Ithaca will face Oswego in the title game on Saturday at 2 p.m. The top-seeded Lakers defeated fourth-seeded Potsdam 76-60 in the other semifinal.

 

Bellis led the Bombers with 23 points. Bellis moved into sixth-place on Ithaca’s career scoring list moving past Greg Albano (1966-69) with 1,247 career points. He also became just the fifth Bomber to pass 500 points in a season. Freshman Jeff Bostic (Geneva/Geneva) scored 10 points and recorded a game-high 11 rebounds while freshman Sean Burton (Notre Dame/Yorkville) added 12 points. Senior Jonathan Whetstone (Palo Alto/Palo Alto, Calif.) recorded a team-high six assists and pulled down seven rebounds.

 

Ithaca (15-13) started the game strong, opening with a 17-4 run. Brockport (15-13) would respond by scoring 10-straight point and eventually would head into halftime with a 36-34 advantage. The second half featured 11 lead changes with neither team gaining more than a five-point lead. Whetstone connected on his only field goal of the day with 42 seconds remaining to give the Bombers a two-point advantage. The Golden Eagles responded with a basket of their own with 34 seconds left before Bellis hit the game-winning shot.

 

Ithaca is making its 12th appearance in the ECAC playoffs, advancing to the finals for the second time. The Bombers won their only other championship game appearance, defeating Union in 2000.