Box Score ONEONTA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team pushed its winning streak to three games on Saturday, as the Bombers defeated the Hartwick Hawks by a score of 96-91 at Lambros Arena. The win pushes Ithaca's overall record to 6-8, including a mark of 3-2 in the conference. Hartwick falls to 8-7 overall and 3-3 in the Empire 8.
 
The Bombers hit 31-of-65 shots in the contest, giving them a shooting percentage of 47.7 from the floor. Ithaca was 9-of-25 from beyond the arc and an impressive 25-of-28 from the charity stripe.  
 
The Bombers had five players score in double figures, led by senior Keefe Gitto's 23-point effort. Gitto also recorded 13 rebounds in the victory, marking his fifth double-double of the season. Freshman Marc Chasin recorded 22 points, three assists and three rebounds. Junior Sam Bevan scored 20 points and paced Ithaca with seven assists. Senior Max Masucci and freshman Carroll Rich chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.   
 
The first half was fairly even all the way through, as neither team was able to grab more than a single-digit lead at any given time. The largest advantage of the frame belonged to Hartwick at six points roughly eight minutes in. Back-to-back three balls from Masucci would close the gap, tying the contest at 15-15 with 11:27 left to go. Hartwick carried a small 41-40 lead into halftime, ending an opening frame that featured 10 ties.
 
A jump shot from Rich to open the second half once again gave Ithaca the lead, sending the Bombers on an 11-0 run to jump ahead, 51-41. Ithaca dominated the middle of the second half, as the Bombers' lead grew as high as 18 (83-65) with 6:21 remaining in the game. However, Hartwick battled back over the next five minutes, chipping away at the Bomber lead.

The Hawks got to within two points of Ithaca with a minute remaining, but back-to-back free throws from Bevan cushioned the Bombers' advantage. Strong defense and timely free throw shooting secured the 96-91 victory for Ithaca down the stretch, pushing the team's winning streak to three games.
 
The three-game win streak marks Ithaca's longest since winning five-straight games from Feb. 16 – March 9 at the end of the 2012-13 season.
 
The Bombers return to Ben Light Gymnasium on Tuesday, Jan. 20 for an Empire 8 showdown with Houghton. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. 

Boxscore (HTML)