Alfred, N.Y. – The men's basketball team (14-6, 7-4 Empire 8) snapped a two-game losing streak by beating host Alfred (9-11, 2-9 Empire 8) 81-63 Friday. The win keeps the Bombers two games ahead of Hartwick in the chase for a berth in the Empire 8 Championship Tournament.

Junior forward Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.) led Ithaca with game-high totals of 21 points and a career-best 18 rebounds. He's recorded nine double-doubles in 20 games this winter.

Senior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse) added 17 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals. Freshman guard Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) netted 10 points off the bench and pulled down six rebounds.

Freshman point guard Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) finished with five assists. The nation's leader in assists per game, Rossi raised his season total to 158 – Ithaca's eighth-best single-season total and eight away from third on the program's all-time list.

Sophomore guard Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schecter/West Orange, N.J.) added nine points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Eli Maravich (Chartiers Valley/Pittsburgh, Pa.) added eight points as well.

The Bombers outrebounded Alfred 54-40 and made all 12 of their free-throw attempts (the Saxons missed 10 of their 25 tries).

Ithaca plays a 4 p.m. game at Nazareth Saturday.

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