ITHACA, N.Y.--The Bombers (16-7, 9-5 Empire 8) rallied from a 23-12 deficit to beat Hartwick (8-13, 5-8 Empire 8) 82-72 Friday night. Sophomore Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) scored 26 points and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, leading the team in both categories.

Hartwick scored five points in the first minute of the game, and allowed Ithaca to scored just six points in the first seven minutes of play. Three-pointers from freshmen Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) and Eli Maravich (Chartiers Valley/Pittsburgh, Pa.) cut the lead to six at 15-9, before the Hawks increased it to 11.

The Bombers took advantage of Hartwick fouls, with freshman Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) and juniors Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) and Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.) combining to make six straight free throws to bring the score to 23-18. A three-pointer from Marcus and a layup from Barera tied the score a 23, capping an 11-0 Bomber run.

The two teams traded the lead before back-to-back threes from Maravich and Oztemel sparked a 10-2 Ithaca run that closed the half.

Ithaca quickly extended its lead to double digits in the second half, and led by as many as 14. Hartwick got as close as five points, but Ithaca made 7-of-8 free throws to help seal the win. Marcus scored 20 of his points in the second period, making six three-pointers. He finished the day 8-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Cruz-Rivas joined Marcus in double digits, netting 18 points in the game. Maravich and Oztemel each scored eight points off the bench while senior Tom Brown (Bayport-Blue Point/Bayport) tallied seven rebounds, six points and a block.

Ithaca recorded just seven turnovers in the game while recording 21 assists. Rossi, the national leader in assists per game, picked up 10 against the Hawks.

The Bombers host Elmira Saturday at 4p.m. in the team's final home game of the season.

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