ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team will begin its run to a Liberty League title on Friday evening inside Ben Light Gymnasium as the No. 2 seed Bombers host No. 6 St. Lawrence University at 7:30 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
VIDEO | LIVE STATS | GAME PROGRAM
THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Tuesday, February 25
Union beat Hobart, 86-83 (OT)
St. Lawrence beat Vassar, 58-50
Friday, February 28
Union (16-10) at RPI (20-5) – 7 p.m.
St. Lawrence (16-9) at Ithaca (16-9) – 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 2
Championship game at highest remaining seed – TIME TBA
RECORD VS. THE FIELD
Of the three remaining teams left in the tournament, Ithaca went 2-4 in head-to-head action. The Bombers split their series with St. Lawrence, winning at 64-46 and losing on the road, 68-61. It was a flipped scenario against Union, as Ithaca won in Schenectady, 81-71, and fell inside Ben Light Gymnasium, 89-89. Ithaca lost both matchups to RPI, 66-38 and 54-51.
INSIDE LOOK AT ITHACA
The Bombers secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament by winning each of their past three games and bring an overall record of 16-9 into Friday's matchup. Since IC's last loss, 68-61, to the Saints, Ithaca has averaged 81.3 points per game and held its opponents to 65.3 points per outing.
A win for the Bombers will send them to the championship round for the first time since 2019-20. IC ended up winning the Liberty League title that season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Logan Wendell leads the IC offense at 17.6 points per game and he is coming off a career-best 38 points against Vassar last Saturday. Wendell enters Friday's game just seven points shy of 1,500 for his career.
Evan Cabral is a menace on both ends of the floor and he contributes 12.9 points and 2.6 assists on the offensive end, to go along with 2.2 steals and 6.1 rebounds on the defensive side.
Jaylon O'Neal adds 10.1 points per outing, while
Aidan Holmes averages 9.2 points a contest.
Chris Leysath has been a solid post player all season with 7.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.
SCOUTING ST. LAWRENCE
The Saints pulled off the lone upset of the tournament on Tuesday with their win at Vassar. St. Lawerence trailed early on against the Brewers but took the lead for good with just over six minutes left in the first half and led by as many as 14 in the second half.
SLU is also 16-9 on the season and is a tough defensive program. St. Lawrence gives up just 58.6 points per game and holds its opposition to just 36.2-percent shooting, including 28.7-percent from 3-point range.
The Saints have also given up the fewest free throw attempts in the Liberty League with 308. Adam Dudzinski is the player to watch as he leads SLU in points (14.4) and rebounds (6.5), while he ranks second on the team in 3-pointers, steals and blocks. Dan Anderson also averages in double figures with 11.0 points per game and is the best shooter on the team.
POTENTIAL CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP
The other semifinal will be held at top-seeded RPI, and the opening tip will occur at 7 p.m. against nearby Union. Both games were extremely close during the regular season as the series was split with a 65-60 RPI victory and 79-77 overtime triumph for the Garnet Chargers.
RPI has been atop of the Liberty League standings nearly all season and is the best defensive unit in the conference, allowing just 56.5 points per game. That also ranks second nationally in points per game allowed. The RPI offense ranks ninth in the Liberty League in scoring at 64.8 points per outing. The Engineers are undefeated this season (18-0) when holding their opponents to 61 points or less.
Union plays an opposite brand of basketball as the Garnet Chargers lead the Liberty League in scoring offense at 76.1 points a game and are ninth in scoring defense at 74.8 points per game. Union has been a team of destiny down the stretch as it has won eight of its last nine games with three of those victories coming by way of buzz-beating shots. Seven of the eight wins have been decided by four or fewer points.
