ITHACA, N.Y.– The Ithaca College men's basketball team returned to the win column after taking down the University of Rochester Yellowjackets by a final score of 86-70 on December 6 inside Ben Light Gymnasium. This game was quite the wild ride as Rochester was leading after halftime, but the Bombers were able to mount an impressive comeback. The win improved the Bombers' record to 5-3 while Rochester fell to 4-4.
In the first half, the Yellowjackets flew out to a 13-6 lead, thanks to Malachi Moore hitting a couple of deep jump shots. Alex Penders and Triston Wennersten both hit a couple of huge threes to bring Ithaca back into it. For the majority of the first half, it was Penders and Wennersten making the majority of contributions, but Logan Wendell and Aidan Holmes got going offensively at the midway point of the first half.
With 3:12 to go in the first half of action, Penders made a layup for Ithaca to tie the game up for the first time since tip-off. However, Rochester was able to outscore the Bombers, 13-7, in the final three minutes and boasted a 41-35 lead at the midway point.
The second half was a complete reversal of the first. Ithaca was flying around and hitting shots as they had a remarkable 51 points over the final 20 minutes. With roughly 10 minutes to go in the second half, Ithaca was up 54-53 after a Cole Wissink free throw. Wendell started to heat up after hitting three free throws and making a few layups.
Bryce Bleibtrey hit a clutch three-pointer, putting the Bombers up 66-60 and Wendell scored seven straight to secure the comeback victory for the Bombers. The Bombers walked out of Ben Light victorious after beating Rochester 86-70. Wendell led all scoring with 24 points, including 22 in the second half, and Matt Niemczura led Rochester with 12 points.
Penders finished the night with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting with eight rebounds and two blocks. Wennersten added 12 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Andrew Geschickter chipped in nine points and four assists.
The Bombers' next game will be January 2nd, 2024 at Carnegie Mellon with a 2pm tip-off.
