Nazareth closed the season with a three-game winning streak to finish at 11-14 overall and 6-8 in the Empire 8. Ithaca is 14-11 overall and 9-5 in conference games. The Bombers are the third seeed for next weekend's Empire 8 Conference Tournament at St. John Fisher. Top-seeded Fisher will play fourth-seeded RIT Friday at 6 p.m. and Ithaca will play Utica at 8. The championship game is Saturday at 4 p.m.
In Saturday's game, the score was tied for the ninth and final time at 70-70 following a basket by Ithaca's Tom Brown with 4:17 left. McAdam put Nazareth in front for good by swishing a pair of free throws with 3:23 to play. Jeff DeHimer followed by converting a three-point play with 2:26 left as Nazareth extended its lead to five, 75-70.
McAdam later drove for a layup with :51 left and then sank two more free throws 10 seconds after that. Tyler Smith made three free throws in the closing seconds and McAdam sealed the victory with two more free throws with :09 to play.
McAdam, who broke a school record with 10 steals in Friday's win over Elmira, made 9 of 14 shots from the field and went 7 for 7 from the free throw line. He also had nine assists and four steals. Smith added 21 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Junior Joe Canori contributed 16 points and DeHimer had 12.
Ithaca led for most of the first half and was ahead 40-36 at the break after hitting 15 of 29 first-half shots. Sophomore Jeff Bostic (Geneva, NY) made all five of his shots in the first half for 12 points to lead Ithaca.
In the second half, the lead changed hands seven times before Nazareth seized control down the stretch. McAdam scored 19 of his points in the second half as Nazareth made 16 of 28 shots (57 percent).
Bostic led the Bombers in scoring (22) and rebounding (8), while sophomore guard Sean Burton added 17 points, including four three-point baskets.
Newspaper Box Score Ithaca vs Nazareth 02/17/07 4 p.m. at Nazareth College - Kidera Gymnasium At Nazareth College - Kidera Gymnasium NAZARETH 84, ITHACA 80 ITHACA (14-11, 9-5 E8) Jeff BOSTIC 10-12 2-3 22; Sean BURTON 5-12 3-3 17; Tom BROWN 5-9 3-4 13; Dominic SCANLON 4-5 1-1 11; Sean LEAHY 3-11 2-2 10; Sean STAHN 1-2 2-2 4; Brendan ROGERS 1-4 1-2 3; Louis Kail 0-1 0-0 0; Scott RUFFRAGE 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 29-59 14-17 80. NAZARETH (11-14, 6-8 E8) Corey McAdam 9-14 7-7 25; Tyler Smith 8-13 5-6 21; Joe Canori 6-11 1-2 16; Jeff DeHimer 4-7 4-4 12; Brian Steves 2-3 0-0 6; Chris Barrett 1-2 0-1 2; Leon Hill 0-0 1-2 1; Rayvon Higdon 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 30-54 19-24 84. Ithaca........................ 40 40 - 80 Nazareth...................... 36 48 - 84 3-point goals-Ithaca 8-18 (Sean BURTON 4-8; Sean LEAHY 2-6; Dominic SCANLON 2-3; Scott RUFFRAGE 0-1), Nazareth 5-11 (Joe Canori 3-6; Brian Steves 2-2; Chris Barrett 0-1; Rayvon Higdon 0-2). Fouled out--Ithaca-Brendan ROGERS, Nazareth-None. Rebounds-Ithaca 29 (Jeff BOSTIC 8), Nazareth 30 (Tyler Smith 7). Assists-Ithaca 17 (Brendan ROGERS 6), Nazareth 14 (Corey McAdam 9). Total fouls-Ithaca 20, Nazareth 13. A-552