ITHACA, N.Y.--The eighth-ranked men's basketball team (24-2) suffered its second loss of the season, falling 82-76 to Nazareth (13-13) in the first round of the Empire 8 playoffs. The Golden Flyers will take on Utica in Sunday's championship game, with the conference automatic bid to the NCAA tournament on the line. The Bombers will learn Monday if they will receive an at-large bid.

The Bombers used a 19-7 run in the second half to cut the Golden Flyers 15 point advantage down to within three points with 8:07 left to play. Nazareth responded with a 13-6 spurt to increase its lead to 10 points. Over the next two minutes, Ithaca put together an 8-2 run and cut the lead to within three points on a layup by senior center Jeff Bostic (Geneva/Geneva) with 1:20 to play. Nazareth hit both free throws on its next possession and increased the lead to five. With 1:08 to play, the Bombers failed to convert on the ensuing possession and were forced to foul for the remainder of the game. Nazareth made 10-of-11 free throw attempts in the game's final minutes to secure the win.

Senior point guard Sean Burton (Notre Dame/Yorkville) paced the Bombers with a game-high 34 points. Burton connected on 12-of-23 shots from the floor and dished out four assists.

Seniors Sean Leahy (West Genesee/Syracuse) and Brendan Rogers (Liverpool/Liverpool) also tallied double-figures in scoring. Leahy netted 14 points while Rogers finished with 17 for the game. Rogers hit all nine free-throw attempts in the contest.

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