CANTON, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team saw its five-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday as the Bombers lost to first place St. Lawrence, 84-72. Although the Bombers were dealt a loss this afternoon, they still clinched a playoff spot in the upcoming Liberty League Championship. IC is now 13-10 on the season and 9-7 in the Liberty League.

The Bombers jumped out to a 7-2 lead over the opening 2:02 of the game on four points from junior Sebastian Alderete and a 3-pointer by junior Riley Thompson.

Four minutes later, St. Lawrence knotted the game at 12-12, but Ezema put the Bombers back on top less than 20 seconds later. With 13:44 to play, St. Lawrence earned its first lead of the game at 15-14, but it was short-lived, as sophomore Bryan Karl connected from 3-point range at the 13:11 mark to give IC a 17-15 advantage.

After a 20-20 deadlock with 10:41 to play in the half, Ithaca went on an 11-4 run, capped off by a Thompson 3-pointer, over the next three minutes to build its largest lead of the half at 31-24.

The Bombers held onto their lead for the remainder of the half until St. Lawrence hit a pair of free throws with 29 seconds left to go back ahead, 42-41, which was the eventual halftime score.

IC shot 14-for-30 (46.7%) from the field, while St. Lawrence was 15-for-27 (55.6%) overall. Ithaca led for more than 16 minutes of the first half despite the one-point deficit heading into the locker room.

In the second half, it was all St. Lawrence as the Saints came out on a 14-2 run over a 3:58 stretch. The Bombers were never able to pull back to within single digits for the remainder of the game and fell behind by as many as 18 points late in the contest.

St. Lawrence finished the afternoon shooting 54.7% (29-for-53) from the floor and 50.0% (11-for-22) from 3-point range. The Bombers connected on 12 3-pointers and scored 22 points off turnovers.

Ezema and Karl led the Bombers with 14 points each. Ezema went 6-for-13 from the field with seven rebounds, while Karl was 5-of-9 overall and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Senior Matt Flood added 12 points and Alderete chipped in 10 points and five boards.

Thompson contributed nine points, eight assists and six rebounds. Freshman Sylar Sinon dished out five assists and freshman Luke Brown tallied six points off the bench.

Ithaca concludes its regular season next weekend at Bard and Vassar. The Bombers will then compete in the Liberty League playoffs for the second straight season on Tuesday, Feb. 19 at a time and location still to be determined.