Senior forward Sean Stahn (Ardsley/Scarsdale) and sophomore guard Sean Burton (Notre Dame/Yorkville) and added 14 points each for Ithaca. Burton also had six assists, four rebounds and three steals. Junior forward Dominic Scanlon (Oswego/Oswego) and sophomore forward Sean Leahy (West Genesee/Syracuse) each netted eight points.
Junior center Tyler Smith (Fairport/Fairport) led the Golden Flyers with a game-high 22 points on 11-of14 shooting from the field and pulled down a game-high nine boards. Freshman guard Rayvon Higdon (Edison Tech/Rochester) added 14 points and six rebounds for Nazareth. Freshman guard Corey McAdam (Fairport/Fairport) also scored in double figures with 13 points and dished out six assists.
Ithaca never trailed and was tied just three times in the game, taking a 2-0 lead on Stahn’s game-opening layup and took the lead for good on a Leahy jumper with 2:57 remaining in the first half. The Bombers led 33-32 at halftime and led by as many as nine points with 5:40 left in the game. The Golden Flyers closed to within three points at 68-65 with 1:51 remaining in the contest, but Ithaca converted 5-of-7 free throw attempts in the closing minute to hold on for the win.
The Bombers shot 57.7-percent (15-26) from the floor and were 11-of14 from the free throw line in the second half and held an 18-10 advantage on points off turnovers. Ithaca’s defense held junior guard Joe Canori (Webster Thomas/Webster), the Empire 8’s leading scorer, to just nine points on 3-of13 shooting from the field and 3-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
The Bombers next host Rochester Institute of Technology while Nazareth travels to Elmira. Bost games will tip-off Saturday at 4 p.m.
01/19/07 8 p.m. at Ithaca, N.Y. (Ben Light Gymnasium) At Ithaca, N.Y. (Ben Light Gymnasium) ITHACA 75, NAZARETH 68 NAZARETH (6-8, 1-2 E8) Tyler Smith 11-14 0-1 22; Rayvon Higdon 6-15 2-2 14; Corey McAdam 6-13 1-1 13; Joe Canori 3-13 0-0 9; Brian Steves 1-3 0-0 3; Chris Barrett 1-1 0-0 3; Leon Hill 1-2 0-0 2; Jeff DeHimer 1-6 0-2 2. Totals 30-67 3-6 68. ITHACA (8-6, 3-1 E8) Jeff BOSTIC 8-12 4-5 20; Sean STAHN 6-9 2-2 14; Sean BURTON 5-16 2-2 14; Dominic SCANLON 3-6 1-1 8; Sean LEAHY 3-6 2-3 8; Tom BROWN 3-4 0-0 6; Scott RUFFRAGE 1-5 2-4 4; Brendan ROGERS 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 29-62 14-19 75. Nazareth...................... 32 36 - 68 Ithaca........................ 33 42 - 75 3-point goals--Nazareth 5-16 (Joe Canori 3-9; Chris Barrett 1-1; Brian Steves 1-3; Rayvon Higdon 0-3), Ithaca 3-13 (Sean BURTON 2-7; Dominic SCANLON 1-2; Sean LEAHY 0-2; Scott RUFFRAGE 0-1; Brendan ROGERS 0-1). Fouled out--Nazareth-Rayvon Higdon, Ithaca-None. Rebounds--Nazareth 38 (Tyler Smith 9), Ithaca 32 (Jeff BOSTIC 7). Assists--Nazareth 17 (Corey McAdam 6), Ithaca 15 (Sean BURTON 6). Total fouls--Nazareth 17, Ithaca 12. Technical fouls--Nazareth-None, Ithaca-None.