ITHACA, N.Y. – The men's basketball team (13-4, 6-2 Empire 8) erased a 25-point deficit to shock visiting Rochester Institute of Technology (4-9, 0-4 Empire 8) for an 81-80 win Tuesday. The Bombers trailed by 24 points in the first half and faced a 20-point Tiger lead with 15:09 left in regulation.

Senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) scored a career-high 34 points – including 14 free throws – and pulled down 10 rebounds. Junior forward Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.) added 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.

Freshman point guard Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) finished with 12 points and five assists. His lay-up after an RIT shot clock violation with 3:24 left tied the game at 68-all. Cruz-Rivas hit two free throws after grabbing an offensive rebound on Ithaca's next possession and the Bombers had their first lead. The Bombers extended their lead to four points on a Cruz-Rivas free throw with four seconds left before RIT hit an uncontested three-point basket at the buzzer.

Down 60-40 with 15:09 to go, the Bomber defense sparked a 30-8 run, holding RIT scoreless for nearly eight minutes and limiting the Tigers to two baskets in a 12-minute span. Cruz-Rivas scored 14 of Ithaca's 30 points in the run with Barera adding six. The two combined to shoot 11-of-12 from the line during that stretch.

Cruz-Rivas, who picked up his first career double-double, is the school-record fourth Bomber to record a 30-point performance this season. His 14 free throws matched the program's third-highest single-game total. Barera has seven double doubles in 17 games this winter.

The Bombers trailed by 13 less than five minutes into the game and were down 21 eight minutes in. The Tigers – who made 12 of their first 16 shots en route to shooting 58.3 percent from the floor in the first half – held their biggest lead, 34-9, with 9:28 left in the opening period.

Ithaca concludes its four-game homestand Friday, hosting St. John Fisher at 8 p.m.

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