ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team fell in overtime to the University of Rochester, 81-76, in Ben Light Gymnasium on December 7. With the loss, the Bombers are now 4-3 on the season and close out the 2021 portion of their schedule.

The Bombers shot 39.7% (29-for-73) during the game, made 32.1% from the three-point arc (9-of-28), and 69.2% from the free throw line (9-for-13). IC pulled down 31 rebounds with 11 second chance points. Rochester went 29-for-54 (53.7%) from the field and made 16-of-26 attempts at the free throw line, while also outrebounding the Bombers by 15.
 
Despite being down for the opening seven minutes of the first half of the game, the Bombers managed to break even with Rochester, 19-19. Shortly after however, the Yellowjackets took back the lead with a three-point shot, making the score 22-19. The lead did not last long this time though, after a three-point answer from Zach Warech just 12 seconds later for the Bombers.
 
From there, Ithaca maintained a close lead for the next five minutes. In that time, the Bombers scored 10 more points – five of them coming from Logan Wendell and a dunk from Triston Wennersten – until Rochester took a brief lead after a layup, making the score 34-32.
 
The Bombers took back the lead less than a minute later after Luka Radovich made a layup after being fouled and converted his single free throw shot, changing the scoreboard to 35-34. IC stayed ahead for the remainder of the half and ended with a 45-39 lead over Rochester.
 
IC quickly added to its lead starting the second half with a layup from Skylar Sinon within the first 10 seconds to make the score 47-39. The Bombers' lead only continued to grow from there, as they added 10 more points within the first four minutes of the half, making the score 57-43. However, IC lost momentum briefly, remaining scoreless for over six minutes and allowing Rochester to tighten the difference to 57-54. Sinon broke the silence at 9:05 with a jumper followed by a free throw from Radovich 40 seconds later to increase Ithaca's lead to 60-54.
 
The score stayed close for the remainder of the game as Rochester continued to fight back. The two teams went back and forth for over a minute, but the Bombers remained on top thanks to another jumper from Radovich at the seven-minute mark, making the score 62-59.
 
After a timeout from Rochester, the score remained the same until the 6:13 mark after a layup by Jack Stern increased the Bombers lead to 64-59. However, Rochester answered quickly after making two foul shots and a layup to tighten the spread to a point at 64-63 with 5:21 left on the clock.
 
The Bombers maintained a 1-to-3 point lead through intense back and forth action until Rochester tied the game 72-72 with a three-pointer at just 20 seconds remaining. Sinon attempted a jump shot with two seconds left on the clock but missed in the midst of falling to the ground, sending the game into overtime.
 
After being fouled on a three-point attempt just 38 seconds into the five-minute overtime period, Sinon made two of his three foul shots to earn back a 74-72 lead for the Bombers. However, Rochester answered within the minute after making two free throws and a layup, taking back the lead, 76-74, with 3:30 remaining on the clock.
 
Rochester's lead didn't last long though, as the Bombers tied things back up within the minute after another Sinon layup, changing the scoreboard to 76-76. After nearly a scoreless minute and a Bombers timeout, Rochester scored with 1:07 remaining, making the score 78-76. The Yellowjackets score again, now with 25 seconds left, on a free throw, giving them a 79-76 lead.
 
The Bombers took another timeout with 15 seconds left in overtime but were unable to score after returning to the floor. After Rochester pulled down the rebound off a three-point attempt from Sinon, the Yellowjackets were fouled and made both free throws, giving them the 81-76 win.
 
Sinon led the team with 29 points and three rebounds, followed by Radovich with 14 points and six rebounds and Warech with nine points and five rebounds. George Sikoryak also contributed seven rebounds for the Bombers.
 
The Bombers do not return to the court for competition for nearly a month before getting on the road to take on rival SUNY Cortland Jan. 4.