ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team defeated Clarkson University by a score of 99-69 on Saturday afternoon inside Ben Light Gymnasium. The Bombers offense exploded for 58 points in the first half for a 30-point lead, but the Golden Knights looked to come storming back early in the second half. With the lead back to 12 points, the Bombers dominated the final 10 minutes, earning their 30-point victory in the end.
The Bombers finished with four players in double-figures with
Luka Radovich leading all scorers with 22 points after a dominant first half.
Andrew Geschickter finished with 18 points, going 4-for-6 from behind the arc.
Triston Wennersten added 13 points to the Bombers total and
Skylar Sinon finished with 10 points and seven assists. The Bombers finished with 55.1% shooting from the field.
Radovich took over in the early minutes, going for 11 points through the first five minutes to help the Bombers take a quick 13–4 lead. The Golden Knights responded with two three-pointers to bring the game back within three points with 13:30 remaining in the half.
A three-point ball by Sinon and a difficult finish at the rim by Wennersten stretched the Bombers lead to 18–10. Wennersten continued a great stretch of play with a jump shot and monstrous finish on an alley-oop gifted by Sinon, forcing a Clarkson timeout. Leading 24–15, Sinon drained a three-pointer out of the timeout to build the Bombers' momentum. Defensively, the Bombers held the Golden Knights to a four-minute scoring drought midway through the half.
Ahead 27–18 with 7:15 remaining,
Jack Stern came off the bench to earn a quick five points with
Liam Spellman getting on the board and Geschickter draining a three. Radovich came back in the game, quickly earning a tough and-one basket for the three-point play. A three-pointer by
Logan Wendell capped off a four-minute stretch where the Bombers scored 18 points, taking a 23-point lead.
The Bombers continued to stay hot in the final minutes as Radovich hit a three and Geschickter nailed two more in the final 30 seconds as the Bombers took a massive 58-28 lead into the half.
The Golden Knights came out of the half with energy, earning an 11–0 scoring run in the first few minutes to make the score 58–39. A bucket by
George Sikoryak III ended the run, but the Golden Knights stayed hot on offense with two three-pointers to bring the game to 61–47.
With 13:47 remaining, Wennersten picked off a pass and took it the length of the court to throw down his second jam of the day. Wennersten drained a three on the next possession, but three more threes from Clarkson made it a 12-point score. The Golden knights went 5-for-9 from three in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
Stern came into the game, scoring a quick four points to help the Bombers keep its double-digit lead. Stern helped spark a 9–0 run for the Bombers, restoring a 20-point lead with 8:50 remaining.
The Bombers began to pull away even further, finding a big 11–0 scoring run just a few minutes later. With 4:56 left in the game, the Bombers led 90–61. The Bombers comfortably finished the game out, restoring its 30-point lead for the 99-69 victory.
The Bombers advance to 10–4 on the season with a 6–1 record in conference play, moving into sole possession of first place in the Liberty League. The Bombers look to extend a six-game winning streak, travelling to Skidmore College for a highly anticipated matchup. The Bombers and Thoroughbreds tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, January 20.
