Box Score

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team (10-4, 5-1 Empire 8) held on to its late lead to defeat host St. John Fisher (9-8, 4-4 Empire 8), 90-87, on Friday night. The Bombers also defeated the Cardinals, 48-46, on Jan. 5.

Senior Travis Warech shot 9-for-12 for a game- and career-high 28 points. Junior Frank Mitchell added 17 and seniors Andrei Oztemel and Sean Rossi chipped in 14 and 13, respectively. Oztemel flirted with a double-double pulling down a team-best nine boards. Rossi made five assists.

The first half featured four ties and six lead changes. The game was tight through the opening nine minutes of action before the Bombers improved on a 20-19 edge with 10 unanswered, holding the Cardinals scoreless for over three and a half minutes. Fisher closed the half with an 11-2 run of its own to pull within one, 43-42.

Oztemel drained five points to tip-off the second stint as Ithaca claimed the lead indefinitely. With a 59-57 advantage at the 12-minute mark, Ithaca pieced together seven straight and went on to claim a 71-61 gap at 6:45. Despite a 12-point lead at 5:06, Ithaca allowed the Cardinals to creep within six at the two-minute warning. Rossi went 4-for-4 from the free throw line for an 81-74 lead at 1:23.

Fisher surged to pull within striking distance down the stretch, outscoring Ithaca 13-9 and holding the Bombers to just free throws until Warech dunked on a Mitchell assist. The dunk, with five ticks lingering in the game, sealed the victory for the Bombers.

Both squads shot better than 50 percent from the floor with the Bombers leading the category, 56.4 percent to 54.4 percent. Ithaca also owned the rebounding count, 32-27.

The Bombers travel to Alfred for a 4 p.m. game Saturday.