ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team had its two-game conference winning streak snapped on Friday night as the Bombers fell to Utica College, 84-75, inside Ben Light Gymnasium.  With the loss, Ithaca falls to 13-11 overall and 7-8 in the conference standings while the Pioneers improved to 7-16 on the season and 4-11 against Empire 8 opponents. 

The Bombers opened up a 10-4 lead just five minutes into the first half after pounding the ball inside which lead to five consecutive baskets inside the painted area.  The Pioneers would counter, however, with an 8-2 run that included back-to-back 3-pointers to knot the game at 12 points apiece.

Marc Chasin would give Ithaca a three-point edge after burying a deep triple from the top of the key to make it 15-12 and extended their advantage to six points after Carroll Rich strung together five unanswered points including an old-fashioned 3-point play to make it 20-14 with 9:42 left in the opening stanza.

Trailing by six, Utica would climb back into the contest after scoring 12 of the game's next 17 points including a 6-0 run to take their its first lead since the 18:19 mark, 26-25.  The Bombers wouldn't be down long, though as Joey Flanagan's lay-up started an 8-3 run that put Ithaca up briefly, 32-29, before the Pioneers connected on their fourth triple of the half to tie the game at 32-32 with 2:25 still showing on the clock.

From there, the lead would change hands four times before a Pioneer bucket inside staked the visitors to a one-point lead, 38-37, heading into halftime.

Coming out of intermission, Utica controlled the pace, building an 11-point lead courtesy of a 15-7 run that saw the Pioneers knock down two from behind the arc.  Ithaca would battle back a 7-0 run capped by a Peter Ezema jumper from the baseline brought the Bombers to within four points, 73-69, but nine made free throws in the final minute sealed the win for Utica, 84-75.

Ezema recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-high 18 rebounds while Rich finished with 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting.  Marc Chasin also contributed a double-double as the sophomore guard added 17 points and 11 boards including four on the offensive end.  Sam Bevan had 10 assists, eight rebounds and five points in all.

Defensively, the Bombers came away with 11 steals and forced the Pioneers into 20 tunrovers.

The Bombers will close out the regular season at 2 p.m. on Saturday when they host Hartwick College in Ben Light Gymnasium.  Ithaca will celebrate its senior class before tip-off.