Box Score

Oswego, N.Y. – The Ithaca men's basketball team (0-2) dropped a 74-71 come-from-behind effort at 18th-ranked Oswego (1-1) on the first day of the Max Ziel Classic.

Oswego forced the Bombers into an early deficit, but Ithaca fought back within striking distance and took the lead early in the second. The Lakers reclaimed the advantage three minutes into the latter period and did not surrender the lead, despite Ithaca tying the game at 53-53 at 13:44.

Sophomore Frank Mitchell (Hillsborough/Hillsborough, N.J.) posted a career-high 25 points to lead all scorers and added seven boards, while junior Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) earned his fourth career double-double with a 14-point, 13-rebound performance. His 13 boards, that rewrote his previous career-best of 12, were a game-high.

Senior Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.) hit double digits with 11 points, while junior Sean Rossi (Sparta/Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) scored nine and dished out a contest-best six assists to move into second-place all-time at Ithaca with 492 career assists.

Ithaca outrebounded the Lakers, 33-28, while the Oswego hit 48 percent of their shots to the Bombers' 47.

Despite Oswego opening the game on a 15-6 run, three different Bombers drained threes to knot the game at 15. The Lakers responded with seven straight on their way to a 12-4 run, before Ithaca unleashed a streak of its own. At the four-minute mark the Bombers deadlocked action at 29-29, helped by Mitchell's eight unanswered. The teams traded buckets down the stretch as the host squad maintained a slight, 38-36, edge at the break.

The Bombers took their first lead of the game with an Oztemel three just 21 seconds into the second stint, though the Lakers erased a 43-40 Ithaca advantage with an 8-2 run. The teams battled and Marcus locked the game at 53-53 with 13:44 to play. Two scoreless minutes ticked off the clock before Oswego put away eight straight.

Sophomore Christian Jordan (Cherokee/Marlton, N.J.) snapped the Bombers' near four-minute scoreless drought burying a three on a Rossi assist to tip-off a 9-3 Ithaca showing making it a one-possession game, 64-62. Oswego answered taking a 71-64 lead, but Marcus tallied five on back-to-back possessions to bring the game back within two, 71-69. 

The Lakers swished a pair from the line with 29 seconds lingering on the clock but again the Bombers responded. Mitchell drove the lane for a layup at the 20-second mark and later pulled down the back-end of two Oswego foul shots to allow an Ithaca timeout. Ithaca inbounded the ball in the waning seconds to Rossi who drove the court and launched a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer that was off-point to end the game.

Ithaca will face Fredonia at 2 p.m. on day two of the Max Ziel Classic.