Box Score

POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team (1-1) suffered a 65-63 loss to host Clarkson (2-0) in the championship game of the North Country Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Senior Eli Maravich led the Bombers with a career-high 17 points. Junior Frank Mitchell and senior Sean Rossi each scored nine and senior Travis Warech added eight. Mitchell led the Bombers on the boards with nine rebounds as he fell just one point and one rebound shy of his sixth career double-double. Senior Jordan Healey recorded a career-best four steals and Maravich chipped in three.

The Golden Knights shot 45.9 percent from the floor to the Bombers' 35.7 percent and held a 39-35 gap in rebounds.

Ithaca worked their way into an early 14-4 deficit, but answered with a 10-0 run to take a 20-19 advantage at 6:39. The teams entered intermission deadlocked at 30-30. The first frame was tied on three occasions with Ithaca claiming nine points on Clarkson turnovers.

The Golden Knights regained an eight-point lead, 42-38, early in the second stint. Four different players scored as Ithaca responded with a 9-0 run.

The remainder of the game proved to be a nail biter, with neither team holding more than a four-point advantage. It was tied on five occasions over the final 12 minutes of play as the second stint featured 10 lead changes.

Tied 61-61 at the one-minute mark, Clarkson took a 63-61 lead with 25 seconds lingering in the game. Maravich capitalized on a Warech assist with 14 ticks remaining to tie up action, but a Golden Knight buzzer-beater jumper sealed the win for the host squad.

The Bombers return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Cortland at 8 p.m.