GENEVA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team overcame an 11-point first half deficit at Hobart College on Friday evening inside Bristol Gymnasium and rallied to top the Statesman, 73-65, for a crucial Liberty League victory. IC, which is now 11-6 on the season and 7-3 in the Liberty League, held Hobart scoreless for more than a seven-minute over the two halves to mount the comeback win.

Ithaca and Hobart played to three different lead changes over the opening 2:24 of the contest up to a 5-4 lead for the Statesmen. After that change, IC knotted the game up at 9-9 on a 3-pointer by Andrew Geschickter, but from there, Hobart went on a 15-4 run to establish a 24-13 edge with 9:45 remaining.

The Bombers answered with a 9-2 spurt over the next 2:41 to trim its deficit down to 26-22. During that run, Triston Wennersten tallied five points and Logan Wendell accounted for the other four points.

Hobart pushed its lead back out to eight points, 30-22, with back-to-back buckets by the 4:40 mark, but baskets came at a premium from there. Geschickter drilled a 3-pointer 12 seconds later and then both teams went scoreless for the next 1:17 until Hobart found the bottom of the net to make the score 32-25. On Ithaca's next possession, Luka Radovich – who missed the last five games – was fouled in the act of shooting and made both attempts at the line to bring IC back to within five points at 32-27 with 2:59 remaining, which happened to be the final points scored in the half.

The Statesmen were shooting nearly 70-percent from the field in the opening nine minutes but went ice cold and finished the half at 40.5% (15-for-37). IC shot just 30.3% and was outrebounded, 21-12, over the opening 20 minutes of action.

Ithaca opened the second half on a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 33-32, on a Skylar Sinon jumper at the 16:17 mark of the second half. Hobart went back ahead, 35-33, on a 3-pointer with 15:47 to play which ended a scoreless drought of seven minutes and 18 seconds.

Back-and-forth action ensued for the next four-plus minutes, and with 11:17 to go, Radovich nailed a corner 3-pointer to put the Bombers back on top, 46-45.

Logan Wendell staked IC to its largest lead (at that time) of the night at 50-47 on a layup just under nine minutes to go in the contest. After a Hobart turnover, Wennersten connected on a transition 3-pointer to extend the Bombers' advantage to 53-47 just 37 seconds later.

After a three on Hobart's end made the score 53-50, the Bombers notched five quick points on a 3-pointer from Radovich and a breakaway layup from Geschickter to give IC an eight-point edge at 58-50 with 6:48 to go.

The Statesman responded with six straight to pull to within a possession game at 58-56 with just under five minutes to play, but IC quickly pushes its lead back out to seven points, 63-56, on a layup from Sinon and 3-pointer from Liam Spellman.

With 2:56 left, Radovich gave the Bombers a nine-point cushion, 65-56, on a layup and had a chance to extend the lead to double digits but could not convert the three-point play on a missed free throw.

Hobart managed to get back to within five points at 65-60 with 1:36 remaining, but that was the closest the Statesmen could get as the Bombers put the game away at the line and secured the victory, 73-65.

Radovich led all scores with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting with four rebounds and two steals. Geschickter finished the night with 14 points on 5-of-10 from the floor, while Sinon and Wennersten each added 10 points. Sinon also had six rebounds, six assists and five steals. Spellman scored all seven of his points in the second half, to go along with six boards.

The Bombers would finish the game shooting 41.5% (27-for-65) and scored 28 points off turnovers.

Ithaca travels to RPI on Saturday for a 4 p.m. tip in Troy, N.Y. The Bombers head back to the Capital Region the following weekend, February 4-5, to battle Union and Skidmore before returning home on the 11th and 12th to play Clarkson and St. Lawrence.