POTSDAM, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team ran its winning streak to five in a row with a dominating, 97-67, victory at Clarkson University on Friday evening, Feb. 8 inside Alumni Gymnasium. Ithaca outscored Clarkson by 24 points in the second half to improve its record to 13-9 overall and 9-6 in the Liberty League and is now in sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings. Clarkson drops to 4-17 and 3-11.
After a first half that staked the Bombers in a 45-39 lead head into intermission, IC exploded in the second half for 52 points to turn the contest into a runaway, as the Bomber defense held Clarkson to just 28 second half points.
Ithaca made 15-of-37 (40.5%) 3-pointers in the win and went 36-for-74 (48.6%) overall. The Bombers also assisted on 20 made baskets.
Junior
Sebastian Alderete led all scorers with 25 points on 9-of-15 shooting (5-of-8 from 3-point range) with seven rebounds and four assists, while classmate
Riley Thompson tallied 23 points and seven boards. Thompson was 8-for-14 overall and 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
Senior
Peter Ezema added 18 points and seven rebounds, while freshman
Skylar Sinon chipped in 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Ithaca opened the contest with an 8-5 lead over the initial 2:08, but Clarkson answered with five straight points to go up, 10-8, with 15:39 left in the half. The Bombers responded with seven unanswered points, including five from Alderete to regain the lead at 15-10 less than two minutes later.
After Clarkson closed to a 20-19 difference midway through the half, the Bombers went on an 8-0 over a three-minute stretch to make the score 28-19. The Golden Knights fought back with nine of the next 11 points to bring things back to a two-point spread at 30-28 at the 4:37 mark.
Clarkson then regained the lead, 38-36, with 1:48 left in the half after a pair of free throws. A technical foul on Clarkson led to a pair of makes for Thompson at the stripe to tie the game at 38-38, and the Bombers would carry that momentum to close out the half on an 7-1 run and took a 45-39 lead into the break.
Within the opening minute of the second half, Ithaca established a 10-point lead, 51-41, on a 3-pointer from Alderete. Clarkson scored the next five points to make the score 51-46, but IC rattled off the next 11 points to build a 16-point edge, 62-46, with 15:44 left.
Less than two minutes later, the Ithaca advantage grew to 20 points at 68-48. The Bombers would cruise from there for the 30-point win.
IC's 97 points scored are a season-high, and the highest point total since the Bomber tallied a 100-72 win over SUNY Canton on Nov. 17, 2017.
Over the past five games, Ithaca is average 89.4 points per game and is allowing 70.6.
The Bombers will conclude their North Country trip tomorrow afternoon with a 4 p.m. tipoff against St. Lawrence.
