ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team got back in the win column in a mid-week Liberty League matchup with RIT inside Ben Light Gymnasium as the Bombers came away with an 80-69 victory. Ithaca is now 13-8 overall and 10-4 in the Liberty League, moving into a tie for second with Vassar.

RIT led from the opening jump and built a 20-10 lead by the 13:05 mark of the first half. The Tigers started the game 8-for-12 from the floor and 3-for-5 from 3-point range to take control early on. IC's offense ran through Chris Leysath, who scored seven of the Bombers first 10 points.

Out of the Bombers' timeout, Jaylon O'Neal scored seven straight points to cut the deficit to 20-17. Ithaca would then take a 26-25 lead on a 3-pointer from Cole Wissink with 6:48 remaining in the half. IC extended its lead to 31-27 with just under four minutes to go as Aidan Holmes recorded a block and steal to allow O'Neal to leak out for a fast break layup, but RIT answered with six straight to regain the advantage at 33-31 with 2:30 left.

RIT hit a floater in the paint in the final seconds to take a 39-37 lead into the locker room. O'Neal and Leysath combined for 23 points on 9-of-21 shooting in the half.

The second half was tightly contested for the first five minutes as neither team led by more than three points until O'Neal made a pull up jumper at the top of the key to give IC a 50-46 edge, but RIT fought back to regain the lead at 52-50 with 13:30 minutes left in the game.

After another tie at 52-52, IC went on a 9-0 run, highlighted by a four-point play from Jose Padilla, to established its largest lead of the contest at 61-52 with 11:30 to go. The Bombers then cleaned up the offensive glass and capitalized with a 3-pointer from Wissink to take their first double-digit lead of the night at 65-54 with 9:18 on the clock.

IC would then earn its largest lead of the game at 68-55 on a deep 3-pointer from Padilla as the shot clock was running down with just under eight minutes left. RIT pulled back to within five points, 74-69, with 1:44 to go, but the Bombers put the game away at the free throw line.

An impressive second half effort from the Bombers provided them with an 80-69 victory. Notable offensive efforts from Ithaca include O'Neal who finished the night with 22 pts, Leysath with 14 points and Wissink and Padilla each added nine points off the bench. Cabral and Leysath led the team in rebounds tonight with six apiece.

Ithaca is on the road for the rest of the regular season and travels to St. Lawrence and Clarkson this weekend.