ITHACA, N.Y. - After overcoming a first half deficit, the Ithaca College men's basketball team beat Union College 80-73 Friday, Feb. 3 in Ben Light Gymnasium in the teams' second Liberty League matchup of the season.
 
Luka Radovich led the Bombers on both sides of the court with 28 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks. It was the graduate forwards third double-double of the season. Logan Wendell followed close behind with 20 points and five rebounds. Zach Warech also added 10 rebounds, while Liam Spellman score seven and grabbed four steals.
 
The Dutchmen score the first layup of the game, but their lead didn't last long after Luka Radovich drained a three to give the Bombers their first points of the game. Both teams continued to battle head-to-head in an effort to take the lead for the first 11 minutes of the half. Union began to build up a 21-13 lead before taking the first timeout of the game.
 
The Bombers began to make a slight comeback before the Dutchmen got on another scoring streak. With just under 10 minutes on the clock, Union held a 27-16 lead before Ithaca called its first timeout. It still took time for the Bombers to heat up, but once they began to close their trail quickly to just 29-24 with just under six minutes left in the first half.
 
Despite Ithaca's efforts to continue to build its score up, it was not quite enough to steal the lead from Union, but the Bombers were able to stay within 10 points of the Dutchmen for the remainder of the half. With less than a minute left, Union called a timeout after Radovich made his first of two foul shots and put Ithaca within just 5 points of the Dutchmen. Union scored right away after its timeout, but Radovich answered with a bucket of his own. Unfortunately, it was not enough to take the lead as Union scored a three on a buzz beater and ended the first half with a 40-32 lead over Ithaca.
 
The Bombers began to battle back quickly into the second half after scoring two points within the first 10 seconds of play, followed by a three-point shot from the corner thanks to Liam Spellman. With 18:30 minutes left to play, Ithaca tightened its trail to just 42-39 before Union called its first timeout of the half. Ithaca continued to battle to take the lead, but it was not until Logan Wendell hit a huge three-point shot with just 14 minutes left on the clock when the Bombers finally took a one-point lead, 50-49, over the Dutchmen that also electrified the crowd.
 
Both teams continued to fight to get on top for the remainder of the game and tied things up several times. Neither team gained more than a three-point lead for a majority of the last 13 minutes of play. After an especially intense five minutes of play, the Bombers called a timeout with 3:56 on the clock and a 69-66 lead on the scoreboard.
 
With less than three and a half minutes left in play, Radovich earned a four-point play while being fouled on a three-pointer and put Ithaca up 73-66. Union continued to battle for a lead and came as close as 75-73 in the final minute before Wendell added a layup with 45 seconds left to put the Bombers up 77-73. Radovich and Wendell both added free throws within the last seconds of play to cushion Ithaca's lead.
 
The Bombers who improved to 13-6 overall and 9-3 in conference action are back in Ben Light Gymnasium tomorrow, Feb. 4, at 4 p.m. versus Skidmore College for Senior Day.