Rochester, N.Y.—Despite a triple-double from senior Sean Burton (Notre Dame/Yorkville), the first in school history, the 12th-ranked men's basketball team (12-1. 4-1 Empire 8) suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Rochester Institute of Technology 87-84. The Tigers (8-3, 6-0 Empire 8) won on a last-second three-point field goal. The two teams entered the game as the only two undefeated teams in the conference.

Seconds before the game-winning shot, Burton hit a pair of free-throws to tie the score at 84. Burton scored 12 points in the 17-7 run that turned a ten point RIT lead with three minutes remaining in the game to a tie after Burton's two free throws . He led all players with 28 points in the game.

Burton added 10 rebounds and a game-high 10 assists. His first triple-double came two days after he picked up his fourth career double-double, which came against Nazareth on Friday.

Earlier in the second half, a three-pointer from senior Sean Leahy (West Genesee/Syracuse) gave the Bombers a 48-47 lead with 17 minutes to play, their first lead of the half. Ithaca held the lead for the next nine minutes, before a 13-3 RIT run gave the Tigers their 10-point advantage with three minutes remaining.

In the opening half, the two teams played within five points of each other for the first 10 minutes of play. A three-pointer from freshman Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) put the Bombers up by a point with nine minutes to play, but eight straight Tiger points put the home team up 29-22.

A layup from Leahy and another Marcus three-pointer pulled Ithaca within a point with five seconds to play in the half. A buzzer-beating Tiger three-pointer made the score 43-39 at halftime.

Senior Brendan Rogers (Liverpool/Liverpool) scored 18 points, making six of his eight field goal attempts and all five of his free throws. Marcus scored 11 points off the bench, with Leahy chipping in 10.

Ithaca returns to action Friday, with an 8 p.m. game at Hartwick
 

Box Score