Box Score

Huntingdon, Pa. – The Ithaca men's basketball team (3-6) suffered a 68-65 loss to host Juniata (8-2) in the championship game of the Doc Greene Tournament on Saturday. Senior Jordan Marcus (Solomon Schechter/West Orange, N.J.), who moved into a tie for first-place all-time at Ithaca for career three-point field goals with 261, and junior Andrei Oztemel (Staples/Westport, Conn.) were named to the all-tournament team. Junior Sean Rossi (Sparta/Lake Hopatcong, N.J.) dished out a season-high 15 assists, just two shy of his career high, to become Ithaca's all-time assists leader with 559.

Rossi moved past Sean Burton who had held the top assists spot with 556, while Marcus' season- and game-high eight threes helped tie Burton's career record of 261 treys. Oztemel also moved up the career three-pointers list to knot with Archie McEachern at fourth all-time with 182.

Marcus put away a season- and game-best 28 points to lead the Bombers. Oztemel added 14, while sophomore Frank Mitchell (Hillsborough/Hillsborough, N.J.) posted 11 points, a contest-best nine boards and a career-high five steals. Sophomore Tom Sweeney (Wissahickon/Ambler, Pa.) scored a career-best 10 points in 24 minutes of action as the Bombers put four in double figures for the third time this season.

Ithaca outscored the Eagles, 33-30, in the second stint, but it wasn't enough to make up for its 38-32 halftime deficit.

The teams battled for the lead over the first 11 minutes of play as neither squad secured more than a two-point advantage until the Eagles drove the lane for an 18-14 edge at 8:43. Juniata pieced together a 15-3 run to take a double-digit lead at 6:48. A Sweeney jumper brought the Bombers within four at the one-minute mark of the first, but Juniata had a layup with 24 ticks on the clock to take a 38-32 lead into intermission. 

The Bombers netted seven unanswered to open the second and take possession of the game. Ithaca would twice lead by three points before Juniata recorded seven of their own for a 58-53 lead at the nine-minute mark. A Marcus three brought the Bombers within one at 5:40, but the Eagles outscored Ithaca, 6-4, down the stretch to claim the victory. The final three minutes of play were scoreless as the teams combined to go 0-6, including a Marcus three-point attempt at the buzzer.

Ithaca shot 40 percent from the floor, while Juniata connected with 53 percent of its shots.

The Bombers will next travel to La Roche on Dec. 17 for a 12 p.m. game.