ITHACA, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men’s basketball took on the Utica Pioneers in a non-conference matchup Monday evening but were unable to obtain a victory as the Pioneers topped the Bombers, 82-71, inside Ben Light Gymnasium. This marks their second loss of the season making their record now 3-2.
It was a slower start than normal for the Bombers as they trailed behind 40-26 at half. IC did lead early on, however, with a 9-4 run over the opening four minutes as four different players scored, led by three from Evan Cabral on an and-one just 46 seconds in.
IC would continue to lead until Utica scored on a layup at the 12:02 mark to make it 17-15, and the Pioneers never trailed again in the half to take a 40-26 lead into intermission. The Bombers would battle back to a 26-26 tie on a Logan Wendell bucket with just over four minutes remaining in the half, but Utica closed things out with a 14-0 run.
Utica’s defense was dominant in shutting down key players such as Wendell and Cabral. Wendell being the teams lead scorer in points was only able to put up six points and Cabral trailing close behind with five in the first half. Utica’s offense was in a groove in the first half, highlighted by Damien Call with 12 points and Dayion Thompson with 11. Ithaca did not only trail behind in points, but also in both offensive and defensive rebounds. The Pioneers led 16-10 in defensive rebounds and 8-7 on offensive rebounds.
The beginning of the second half looked promising for the Bombers as they put up five straight points in less than two minutes from both Wendell and Cabral. The rest of the quarter was a back-and-forth battle as the Bombers inched closer and closer lessening Utica’s lead. With 10:05 left in the game, Ithaca only trailed behind 62-53.
Ithaca drew four fouls in a row, making seven out of the eight free throw attempts. Now only down 69-64 the Bombers had 5:00 minutes left for a chance to win. Although Ithaca relentlessly fought to maintain the lead their efforts fell short losing 82-71.
Wendell ended the night with a team-high of 21 points. Triston Wennersten followed behind putting up 14 points with nine rebounds and Cabral finished with 11.
The Ithaca men’s basketball team will travel to Poughkeepsie, New York on Friday, Dec. 1st to take on Vassar College in their first Liberty League conference game of the season.