HOUGHTON, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team got back in the win column on Thursday evening, blowing past Houghton College for a 70-56 road victory. With the victory, the Bombers snapped a three-game slide to improve to 6-9 on the year and 2-4 in Empire 8 play.
 
Ithaca was led by junior guard Marc Chasin, who posted his ninth 20-plus point effort of the year and second in as many outings. He poured in a team-high 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. He went a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe, while he also added a team-best eight rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes of action.
 
Sophomore guard Matt Flood also chipped in one of his finest games of the season. He was red-hot from distance, going 5-for-11 in shots beyond the arc in finishing with 15 points. Junior Carroll Rich added seven points and three assists in helping IC stretch its record to a perfect 9-0 against the Highlanders over the past five seasons.
 
Ithaca took control of tonight's contest over a 4:22 span during the mid-point of the opening half. Trailing 15-12, IC strung together a 16-3 run to take a 10-point lead at 28-18 with 6:40 remaining in the first. The Bombers did not allow Houghton to close any closer than five points for the remainder of the game.
 
Flood powered the run with three of his four total triples in the opening half, while freshman forward Gabe Perez-Ronchetta added all five of his points in the contest to help Ithaca gain separation. Chasin capped the scoring run with a layup.
 
Chasin added four more points over the remainder of the first, while rookie Sebastian Alderete knocked down a jumper with 1:06 left in the half. The Bombers went into halftime with a 33-26 lead.
 
The Highlanders hung around during the beginning portions of the second stanza, closing the deficit as close as five points when Jonathan Stowe flushed a dunk to make it 41-36 with 14:01 remaining. However, another lengthy run by the visiting Bombers put the game out of reach for good.
 
Ithaca strung together a 13-4 run over a 5:46 span, extending the Bombers advantage to 54-40 with 8:15 remaining. Five different players factored in the scoring during the spurt, which included five points from Chasin. The scoring ace for the Bombers knocked down a deep triple and added a layup as part of his 18 points after halftime.
 
Ithaca maintained the margin throughout the rest of the contest, widening the lead to as large as 16 points two separate times down the stretch. Flood put the exclamation point on the game with his season-high fifth triple to make the score 70-54 with 1:19 left.
 
Most encouraging for the Bombers was their defensive effort on the evening. IC held the Highlanders to 56 points, the lowest opponent score Ithaca has relinquished this season. Ithaca held Houghton to just 42-percent (21-of-50) shooting in the game, while it forced 17 turnovers on the night.
 
Ithaca returns to action this Saturday, January 21, when it makes the short trip down Route 13 to face Elmira College. Action at Speidel Gymnasium is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m.