ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team return to the hardcourt on Saturday afternoon when it welcomed Empire 8 heavyweight Stevens Institute of Technology to Ben Light Gymnasium for a must-win conference matchup. Unfortunately, the Bombers had their conference-tournament hopes smashed by the Ducks, falling 98-88 to drop to 6-15 on the year and 2-10 in E8 play. The loss, coupled with victories Nazareth and Hartwick, officially eliminated IC from postseason contention with four E8 contests left on the schedule.
 
Freshman guard Riley Thompson continued his second-half surge with another phenomenal effort. He set a new career scoring high for the second time in as many outings this weekend, pouring in a game-high 27 points, which included a 5-for-8 mark from three-point range. The IC rookie added four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 32 minutes.
 
Junior guard Marc Chasin and sophomore sniper Matt Flood each added 12 points, while junior guard Joey Flanagan chipped in 10 points. Freshman swing-man, Sebastian Alderete, scored nine points, while he also added four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
 
Sophomore big man Adam Kleckner continued his emergence in the low post for Ithaca. He scored eight points, while also pulling two six boards and collecting a pair of blocks.
 
The Bombers got off to a strong offensive start to the game, shooting 6-of-9 from the field, which included a 2-for-3 mark from beyond the arc. The hot shooting start helped IC jump out to a nine-point advantage with just over 13 minutes to go in the half.
 
IC widened the lead to 16 on the strength of a quick 7-0 run. Flanagan scored five points during the streak, nailing a deep corner triple and a fast-break layup off of a perfect homerun pass from Matt Flood. The sophomore guard added a nice drive for a layup of his own to make the score 24-8 just short of the halfway mark in the half.
 
The Bombers continued to maintain their double-digit lead down the back stretch of the opening half with continued hot shooting from distance. Thompson, Alderete, and Flood each converted triples, as IC held a 39-25 lead with 3:44 remaining. Ithaca finished the half shooting 54.5-percent (6-for-11) from three-point range.
 
Unfortunately, the strong start was nullified by a furious Ducks answer over the final 3:44 of the first session. Stevens outscored the Bombers 14-3 to cut the IC lead to just 42-39 at the break. Dylan Walsh knocked down a corner trey just before the horn to close out the half on a high note for the visitors.
 
Two Ithaca players cracked double-figures in the opening half, as Thompson scored 11 points, which included 2-for-3 mark from three-point range. Flood added 10 points, also going 2-for-3 from distance.  Alderete chipped in seven points, while Flanagan and Adam Kleckner marked five points apiece.
 
It was a shooting barrage for both sides to begin the second stanza. Thompson and the Duck's Patrick Barron put on their own personal shooting display, each answering each other with deep three-pointers. Each drilled three triples apiece, with Barron's tying the score at 52-52 at the 16:50 mark of the half.
 
Although Thompson's shooting stroke was red-hot during the early portions of the half, the Ducks' firepower was just too much to keep pace. After a three-pointer by freshman Gabe Perez-Ronchetta lifted Ithaca to a 55-52 lead, Stevens responded with a 17-2 scoring run to turn a deficit into a 12-point advantage at 69-57 with 12 minutes to play.
 
While the Bombers were able to reignite its hot offensive touch from earlier in the contest, the home side struggled to find an answer defensively against the Ducks' sizzling shooting touch. The visitors finished with 59 points after the break, going 58.8-percent (20-for-34) from the field. The mark included white-hot 7-of-13 from three-point range, with several of those coming well-beyond the arc.
 
Ithaca was able to cut the deficit back within three possessions, but with just over two minutes remaining, there was not enough time to mount the comeback.
 
Ithaca returns to action on Tuesday, February 7, when it welcomes Elmira College for an 8:00 p.m. tip at Ben Light Gymnasium.