| 2/6/2004 10:07:43 PM

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ITHACA, NY -- RIT's Luis Villalongo (Chicopee, Mass./Chicopee Comprehensive)'s three-pointer with one second to play in overtime lifted RIT past Ithaca 76-73 in Empire 8 action on Friday night. The win improves RIT to 12-7 overall and 7-1 in the Empire 8.

The Tigers came out hot in the first half, leading by as many as 11 points. The Tigers shot 39.4 percent from the floor in the opening stanza on 13-of-33 shooting. The Bombers made a run late in the half, cutting RIT's lead to 35-33 at the break.

The Tigers came out and just the like they did in the first half and built another 11-point lead. The Bombers would not go away and erased the deficit thanks to hot shooting. The Bombers shot 56 percent in the second half. Despite that RIT would not be denied thanks to strong play by Fran Snyder (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon St. Jude). He played a huge role in the second half and overtime, scoring 17 of his 21 points in the second half and overtime.

RIT never got down and kept plugging away which gave Villalongo an opportunity to win it in overtime. He finished with 10 points, while dishing out two assists. Snyder led RIT with 21 points, including three, three-pointers. Kyle Goff added 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Sean Murphy (Buffalo, NY/Williamsville North) scored 10 points and had nine rebounds.

RIT faces Elmira College on Saturday afternoon. That game tips off at 4 p.m.