Rochester, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's basketball team (14-7, 7-5 Empire 8) rallied from a 23-point deficit in the second half to take a lead but eventually lost 91-85 to Nazareth (15-7, 10-3 Empire 8) Saturday evening in Rochester.

Ithaca used a 21-3 run over a three-minute span early in the second half to narrow the margin. The Bombers capitalized on a Nazareth turnover and freshman guard Eli Maravich (Chartiers Valley/Pittsburgh, Pa.) hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 12:00 left. Ithaca changed the momentum and went on to build a 65-64 lead with 8:37 remaining in the second half on a jump shot by junior forward Phil Barera (Belmont/Belmont, Mass.). Ithaca's largest lead in the second half was four points, following a layup from junior guard Chris Cruz-Rivas (West Genesee/Syracuse). Nazareth scored the game's next 11 points to build a seven-point advantage and held on down the stretch for the win.

Barera led Ithaca with 23 points. Sophomore Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) scored 18 and freshman guard Sean Rossi (Sparta/Sparta, N.J.) added 17. Cruz-Rivas led Ithaca with 11 rebounds, one shy of his career-high set earlier this year. Rossi had eight assists, which is on pace with his nation's-leading assist-per-game average.

The Bombers return home to Ben Light Gymnasium Tuesday when Ithaca hosts Utica at 8 p.m.

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