Ithaca prevails in overtime to win first Liberty League Championship - Mar 2, 2020

The Ithaca College men's basketball team secured its first conference championship since 2013 as the Bombers defeated top-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 80-69, in overtime of the Liberty League championship game at RPI's East Campus Athletic Village (ECAV) Sunday afternoon. With the victory, which extends the winning streak to 13 games, Ithaca improves to 23-5 on the season and will earn the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers will find out tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. who and where they will play next weekend.
At the conclusion of the championship contest, senior Sebastian Alderete (6'5''-G) was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer after he scored 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists. In the semifinals, Alderete scored 17 points with 10 boards.
After 40 minutes of action, Ithaca and RPI were tied at 66-66, but the Bombers came away with the victory by outscoring the Engineers, 14-3, during the extra five minutes of play. In overtime, senior Riley Thompson (6'0''-PG) netted 12 of his 19 points. Thompson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to start the extra session and then iced the contest with six free throws. He went 4-for-9 from the field and was 9-for-10 at the line on Sunday.
Junior Bryan Karl (6'6''-F) added 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Sophomore Skylar Sinon (6'2''-G) tallied 15 points with eight rebounds in the victory.
In the first half of play, Ithaca and RPI played to within a three-point spread over the opening 6:02. The Engineers then took a 16-11 lead at the 12:57 mark. By the 8:13 mark, Ithaca jumped back ahead, 19-18, on a layup from sophomore George Sikoryak (6'0''-PG) III, but RPI responded with a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to establish a 27-19 advantage.
Ithaca responded with a 13-2 spurt over the next four minutes to go back on top, 32-29. During that stretch, Karl drilled a pair of 3-pointers, while Alderete scored five points and Sinon had the other two. RPI tied the game at 32-32 on the next possession, but the Bombers then answered with six straight behind four points from Sinon and two from Karl. Sinon made a free throw with 4.5 seconds remaining in the half, and then RPI hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to cut its deficit to three at the half, 38-35.
The Bombers would build a seven-point lead early on in the second half as Alderete scored six points to put Ithaca ahead, 44-37, at the 17:51 mark. RPI then tied the game at 46-46 just over three minutes later and flipped the lead to 50-49 with 12:29 to go.
Within the next three minutes of action, the game would be knotted twice more at 52-52 and 54-54. Sinon gave the Bombers a pair of three-point leads at 57-54 and 59-56 by the 7:21 mark, but the Engineers regained the edge at 60-59 with 5:37 to go.
A jumper from Alderete 23 seconds later put Ithaca back ahead, but a 3-pointer at the other end of the floor vaulted RPI back in front, 63-61, with 4:44 left. Thompson then tied the game at 63-63 with a pair of free throws on the next possession. RPI then converted a layup with 4:05 remaining to once again take the advantage, 65-63.
After nearly two scoreless minutes, RPI went 1-for-2 at the line with 2:19 on the clock. The Bombers tightened up on defense the rest of the way and did not allow a point while the Bombers recorded three points to tie the game - one from Thompson and two from Alderete - which tied the contest at 66-66 with 41 seconds to play.
Ithaca had the final opportunity in regulation to win the game but a layup attempt from Alderete came up short to force overtime.
It was all Bombers in the extra session as Ithaca scored seven quick points and never looked back. They accounted for 14 points to RPI's 3 in the extra frame for a final score of 80-69.

Liberty Tournament Final: RPI - Ithaca 69-80, OT
Liberty Tournament Semifinals:
RPI - Union 78-58
Hobart - Ithaca 72-80

Courtesy of libertyleagueathletics.com

Tags : SEBASTIAN ALDERETE, ITHACA COLLEGE, NCAA3 BASKETBALL