ITHACA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College men's basketball team continued Liberty League play with a matchup against Bard Saturday evening at Ben Light Gymnasium. Both Ithaca and Bard entered the game with records of 4-2. However, a 77-55 victory for the Bombers brings their record to 5-2 and 2-0 in the Liberty League.
Just a minute into the first half, Bard scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer from Rowan Heinze. A minute later, they extended their lead to 6-0 with another three, this time from Ahmad Rauf. The Bombers were able to respond with two good free throws from Jaylon O'Neal.
Ithaca trailed behind Bard until 13 minutes remained in the first half. Alex Pender's three-pointer tied the game at 13-13. Three minutes later, a free throw from Logan Wendell gave the Bombers their first lead of the game. The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth battle between the teams, but Ithaca gained the lead with 13 seconds left from another free throw by O'Neal, bringing the score to 33-31 heading into the second half.
Bard once again opened the scoring in the second half, proving this game would be a battle until the end. The Bombers quickly responded with two more made free throws from O'Neal. They then went on to put up 10 points in two minutes, thanks to threes from
Evan Cabral and
Chris Leysath, free throws from O'Neal, and a layup from Cabral.
Bard attempted to respond to the Bombers' offense but was unable to regain the lead for the rest of the game. Ithaca began to dominate, holding a largest lead of the half at 23 points. The Bombers also limited Bard to a total of 24 points in the second half, boasting a 53.8% field goal percentage compared to Bard's 29.0%.
Cabral led the Bombers' offense with 13 points, while Wendell and Pender each contributed 11. O'Neal also led the team in rebounds, grabbing nine.
The Bombers will return to Ben Light Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m. on December 10th for a non-conference matchup against Hamilton College.
