ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team will start their 2019-20 this weekend when the Bombers will travel to Elmira, N.Y.  for a two-day tournament on Friday and Saturday. IC tips off the season against Oswego State at 5:30 p.m. Friday, the opponent and time is still to be determined for Saturday, but IC will either play Elmira College or Keystone College.
 
Last season, the Bombers finished with a 16-11 record, and made their second straight appearance in the Liberty League Championship. After defeating Rensselear Polytechnic Institute in the quarterfinals, Ithaca fell to Skidmore College, 82-77, in the semifinal round. The team went 11-7 in its second year in the Liberty League, and closed out the season 7-1 in conference play.

"What we've seen from the team so far this preseason is what we expected from this group," said head coach Jim Mullins. "When we are moving the ball effectively, we are one of the top offenses in the country and we have capable scorers on the court at all times."
 
IC also picked up a marquee victory over No. 13 Rochester 85-70, during the season. This is the second straight year that the Bombers have beaten a ranked Rochester team.

"We've had some really eye-popping performances last season, and when we're on our game, we are really tough to beat."

Now in his 23rd season at Ithaca, Mullins and his staff have solidified a roster of 16 players. Seniors Sebastian Alderete, Riley Thompson, and junior Cooper Macklin will return this season as captains for the Bombers.

Thompson repeats as a team captain this season and will be a significant contributor for IC. Thompson recorded 472 points for the Bombers with 81 rebounds, 55 assists and 24 steals and scored his 1,000 career point on Feb. 15. At the end of the season, Thompson earned an All-Liberty League Second Team Honor. He enters his final season No. 27 on Ithaca's All-Time Scoring list.

"Riley has some of the best range in the nation and is our vocal leader on the floor. When he's having a good shooting night, he can put up a lot of points in a hurry," stated Mullins.
 
Alderete appeared in all 27 games for Ithaca last season, recording ten 20+ point games and scoring 445 points. He received an All-Liberty League Honorable Mention after averaging 16.5 points per game. Alderete now enters his final season just 206 points shy of joining the 1,000 point club.

"The team really looks up to how Sebastian plays and the effort he gives day in day out. He is a strong all-around player who can play multiple positions on the floor," Mullins expressed.
 
As a captain, Macklin looks to take on a bigger role for the Bombers this year. Appearing in 23 games for IC, Macklin recorded 62 points and 44 rebounds in 301 minutes of play.

"Cooper is the consummate point guard. He really understands the game and can provide us with an offensive spark when he's 100-percent healthy," said Mullins.

The Bombers lost two players to graduation over the off season, Peter Ezema and captain Matt Flood. Ezema set the school record for steals and rebounds last season, as well as being named the Liberty League Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Flood was a significant contributor to the team as well, recording more than 238 points and 68 rebounds in his final season. He finished his career seventh all time in 3-pointers with 171.

"It's really tough to replace players like Peter and Matt. Peter is our program's all-time leading rebounder and we will need to make up for that loss with hustle from all our guys to trim down our rebounding margin from last season (nearly minus-8 last season)," Mullins described.

"Matt was just a gritty player who always seemed to come up with big plays when we needed him. His impact was felt beyond what the stat sheet indicated," expressed Mullins.
 
After appearing in eight games last season, senior Jake Mitchell will add depth to the team's roster as a guard this winter. Mitchell finished last season with 20 points and 25 rebounds for Ithaca.
 
Junior Bryan Karl will also return as a forward for the Bombers, serving as a huge spark off the bench for the team last season. Karl finished the season with 224 points and 62 rebounds in 494 minutes of play and led the team with 57 3-pointers.

"Jake and Bryan add two distinct styles of play for us. Jake, with his length, can be a lock-down defender, while Bryan can extend the defense with his shooting ability," Mullins explained.
 
Sophomores Skylar Sinon and George Sikoryak III will all see significant playing time again this season after impressive rookie seasons. Both players appeared in every game for the Bombers, combining for over 300 points and 1,000 minutes of playing time.

"Skylar and George are our two best defenders and we can always count on them to get us a stop. Skylar also presents a problem on offense for other team's as he has taken his game to another level this year. George is another great option for us as a point guard and his basketball IQ is terrific," said Mullins.
 
Junior Lucas Joshi along with sophomores Tommy Carver, Clay Medling, Zach Warech, Kasim Cisse and Alex Barron will play key roles in the depth of the roster this season.
 
Three new freshman have been added to the roster this season, guards Liam Spellman and Gabriel Khalife and forward Jack Stern.
 
In the team's third year of Liberty League play, the Bombers were chosen as the conference's preseason favorites in Men's Basketball.
 
The Bombers are set to face off against four teams who appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament – Moravian College, Oswego, Rochester and Skidmore. Both Rochester and Oswego were ranked within the Top 25 of the D3hoops.com final poll after making it to the second and third rounds of the tournament, respectively.
 
Oswego, Rochester and Hamilton College are all receiving votes in D3hoops preseason poll, all teams the Bombers are set to face off against this winter.
 
After this weekend's season-opening tournament, the team has two more short trips to SUNY Cortland on Nov. 19 and Wells College on Dec. 2.
 
The Bombers open up Liberty League play in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y. on Dec. 6 against Bard College. The next day, Ithaca will only need to make a short trip up the river to play Vassar College in another Liberty League matchup.
 
Next, IC will play the Rochester on the road Dec. 10. During winter break, the team will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. to play two games in the Steel Club Classic on Jan. 4-5 against Moravian and Montclair State University.
 
As the New Year begins, the Bombers return to South Hill on Jan. 10 to play against Liberty League opponent, Skidmore, for the first home game of the season. For the rest of the season, IC will only face Liberty League challengers in 16 straight games.
 
The Bombers then have two more home games against Hobart College on Jan.11 and RIT on Jan. 14. Then they head back on the road for two games to play St. Lawrence University on Jan. 17 and Clarkson University on Jan. 18.
 
The next weekend, the Bombers are back at Ben Light Gymnasium to play Union College on Jan. 24 and RPI on Jan. 25.
 
Over the course of the next two weeks, IC plays five straight away games. First the Bombers travel to Geneva, N.Y. in a rematch against Hobart on Jan. 31. Then in February, Ithaca is scheduled to play at Skidmore on Feb. 1, RIT on Feb. 4, RPI on Feb. 7 and Union on Feb. 8.
 
The Bombers then finish up the regular season on South Hill with four straight home games. First, they welcome plays Clarkson and St. Lawrence on Feb. 14 and 15. IC is scheduled to host Vassar on Feb. 21 before their final regular season game against Bard the next day.
 
Should the Bombers finish within the top six in the Liberty League standings, they will next qualify for the postseason tournament on Feb. 25, 29 and March 1.