ITHACA, N.Y. – The start to the 2022-23 Ithaca College men's basketball season is just around the corner as the Bombers will tip-off this Tuesday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m. against SUNY Cortland in Ben Light Gymnasium. Ithaca is coming off a 17-9 campaign from 2021-22 and has 25 games, including one exhibition, on its schedule this winter.

Simply put, the 2022-23 Bombers are loaded with returning talent as 13 players are back from last year. Ithaca averaged 80.8 points (2102) and 41.3 rebounds (1075) per game last season, both were among the top in the Liberty League, and IC returns 98-percent (2060) of its scoring and 96.1-percent (1033) of its rebounding from 2021-22.

The Bombers will lean on the experience of fifth-year players, Skylar Sinon, George Sikoryak III, Luka Radovich and Zach Warech all season. Along with those four, IC boasts an upperclass crew of seniors Liam Spellman and Jack Stern, along with juniors Noah Downing, Andrew Geschickter, Blake Haber and Triston Wennersten. The sophomores will be paced by Logan Wendell and supplemented by the play of Bryce Bleibtrey and Aidan Holmes.

Second-year head coach Waleed Farid and his newly appointed assistant coach Matthew Smith are excited about the group of returners leading this program.

"I'm so happy to have all four of those guys (Skylar, George, Luka and Zach) back and I'm extremely grateful to get the opportunity to coach them again and grateful to them and their families for choosing to make that commitment to our program and our school," said Farid. "Returning 13 of the 15 guys from last year allows us to have a level of continuity from last year to this year that isn't always normal in college basketball. Our depth of talent is our biggest strength and being able to carry that over from last year is what has everyone in our program to have high expectations for this season."

Farid and Smith have added four first-year players to the roster this season and all have made an immediate impact during off season workouts and will challenge for playing time throughout the year. Those newcomers include Laurance Brady, Christian Dufort, Gavin Schauder and Cole Wissink.

"I'm very excited about our first-year players," Farid stated. "All four guys are talented, and each brings something different to the table. They have already begun to make an impact at practice, and I look forward to watching them continue to develop and grow into their roles as each day passes. Our returning players have also done a great job in helping our first-years in all aspects of their transition from high school to college and that's something I'm really proud of as well."

After the opener against Cortland on November 8, the Bombers will hit the road to play at Montclair State on November 11 and Centenary on November 13. IC then returns home to host at 7 p.m. on November 15 for the first-ever matchup between the two schools.

Three days later, the Bombers will travel over to East Hill to compete in an exhibition game against Cornell at 7 p.m. on the 18th. That game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

After 11 days off, Ithaca will play three straight home games against Susquehanna on November 29 and open December with a pair of Liberty League games against Vassar on the 2nd and Bard on the 3rd. The 2022 calendar year concludes with a tough road test at No. 11 Rochester on December 7 at 8 p.m., but the hard work and dedication during the preseason will hopefully pay off for the grueling start to the 2022-23 campaign.

"The effort level has been great this preseason, and to be honest, guys have been working hard ever since the season ended last year," expressed Farid. "We just had this sour taste in our mouth with how it ended for us in the conference tournament and that has kept us motivated through the offseason and into these first few weeks of the preseason. We definitely have some things we need to improve on at the moment but our commitment to working hard and competing day in and day out has been a major bright spot."

Once the Bombers return from Winter Break, they get right back to work with a home matchup against Hamilton on January 2 at 4 p.m. and then it's all Liberty League games from there.

IC opens the 16-game stretch at No. 20 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on January 6, followed by a road contest at Hobart on the 7th. The Bombers then have a mid-week showdown at RIT on the 10th before coming back to South Hill for games against St. Lawrence and Clarkson on January 13 and 14.

The Bombers will travel back to the Capital District on January 20-21 to battle Skidmore and Union before settling back in Ithaca for a five-game homestand. During that time, IC will play Hobart on January 27 and RPI on the 28th, followed by Union and Skidmore on February 3-4 and RIT on February 7.

The regular season comes to a close with four road games at Clarkson and St. Lawrence on February 10-11, then Vassar and Bard on February 17-18. The Liberty League Championship will be a three-day event on February 21, 24 and 26.

"I'm really looking forward to watching this team continue to grow as a group on and off the floor," Farid concluded. "We've got 17 great people and players in our program and it's exciting to be around them every day and I can't wait to see our team go out and compete every night in a very tough non-league and league schedule. There's no better feeling than when that ball is about to tip at the start of a game, and you know you're about to go and compete hard against a worthy opponent."