UTICA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team was unable to hold onto a late lead as the Bombers fell to Utica College, 84-72, on the road in the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center.  With the loss, Ithaca falls to 9-7 overall and 3-4 in the Empire 8 standings while the Pioneers climb to 5-9 on the season and 2-4 against conference opponents.

Marc Chasin a team-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting to go along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal while Joey Flanagan added 14 points and three helpers.  Junior Carlin Champion finished with 12 points and eight boards and freshman Peter Ezema contributed 10 points and five rebounds for the Bombers.

Ithaca found a groove early, building a five-point lead, 11-5, over the first four minutes of action.  The Pioneers, however, would battle back, eventually taking a 19-17 lead after a bucket in the paint.

Over the course of the next 10 minutes, the lead would change hands seven times until a lay-up by Champion at 2:25 staked the Bombers to a 39-37 lead which they would extend to seven points courtesy of a 9-2 run before a final second bucket by the Pioneers made it 44-39 in favor of Ithaca heading into the halftime break.

The Bombers would control the tempo throughout the second half, building an 11-point advantage before the Pioneers battled back to tie the contest at 56-56.  Despite the momentum being in favor of the Pioneers, Ithaca was able to regain control, building four point lead, 70-66, but the tides would shift once again Ithaca went 1-for-9 from the floor while Utica strung together a 16-2 run over the final 4:11 to emerge with the 84-72 win.

 The Bombers forced the Pioneers into 20 turnovers overall but the Pioneers were able to complete the comeback after shooting 30-of-52 (.577) overall from the field.

Ithaca will return to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday when it takes on Hartwick College in Oneonta.