ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team improved to 8-5 on the season and 5-1 in the Liberty League with a hard-fought, 66-63, victory over Clarkson University on Friday evening in Ben Light Gymnasium. Neither team led by more than six points in the matchup that witnessed 10 ties and 15 lead changes.
Clarkson jumped out to an early 6-2 lead on a pair of 3-pointers in the opening two minutes of the contest. The Golden Knights then hit another 3-pointer, all from Braeden Burns, to build a five-point edge at 11-6, but
Jaylon O'Neal scored the next five points for IC to knot the game at 11-11 with 15:55 to go in the half.
With just over 12 minutes remaining in the half, O'Neal hit a short jumper to give IC its first lead of the game at 14-13.
It was a back-and-forth matchup over the next five minutes as the league foes changed leads four different times. O'Neal made both ends at the line to put IC back on top, 21-20, with 7:34 on the clock, and then
Jose Padilla hit a three to make it 24-20.
Clarkson responded with a 9-0 run over the next three minutes to go back ahead, 29-24, but the Bombers battled back and regained control on an O'Neal 3-pointer with just over two minutes left before intermission.
Over the final two-plus minutes of the half, the lead once again changed hands four times and O'Neal sent the Bombers into the locker room with a 34-33 edge as he made a layup with 37 seconds to go.
O'Neal went 6-for-8 in the first half for 16 points to lead all scorers.
Clarkson made the opening bucket of the second half to regain the lead, 35-34. O'Neal then made a layup to swing the lead back to IC, but he missed the and-one, to keep the score to within a point at 36-35. A few possessions later, O'Neal made two more free throws before Clarkson tied the game at 38-38.
Similar to the middle stages of the first half, IC and Clarkson battled to control the lead.
Evan Cabral gave IC a three-point lead at 41-38 on a 3-pointer, but the Golden Knights went on a five-point spurt to go up, 46-43, with 14:40 on the clock.
The Golden Knights extended their lead to five at 51-46, but
Alex Penders scored the game's next five points to knot things up at 51-51 at the 10:34 mark. A trip to the line for
Jose Padilla made it 53-51 and then Cabral put home a fast break layup to give IC a four-point cushion at 55-51.
Clarkson cut its deficit to two points with 7:47 left in the contest, but a Padilla 3-pointer pushed the spread back out to five a minute later, 58-53. Just over two minutes later, IC established its largest lead of the game at six points, 61-55, as Cabral went 1-for-2 at the line.
The Golden Knights stole an inbounds pass and converted a fast break layup with 1:37 on the clock to pull to within a point at 62-61, but
Aidan Holmes hit a corner three on the next possession to put the Bombers back up by four, 65-61.
Clarkson missed a 3-pointer in the waning seconds to potentially win the game and
Logan Wendell pulled down a rebound. Wendell would then go to the line to make 1-of-2 for the 66-63 final.
The Bombers are back in Ben Light Gymnasium tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. against St. Lawrence.
