| 2/19/2005 6:06:02 PM
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ITHACA, NY - The RIT Men’s Basketball team rallied from a double-digit second half deficit and went on a game-ending 14-2 run over the final 6:11 of regulation to pull out a dramatic 63-60 win over Ithaca College in the Tigers’ regular season finale.
The Tigers trailed 58-53 with 1:55 left, when Fran
Snyder (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon St. Jude) fired a long pass to Kyle
Goff (Manassas, VA/Stonewall Jackson) to make it 58-55.
Tyler Springer (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell) (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell) forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds pass.
Reggie Shore (Amityville, NY/Amityville) scored on a lay-up with 1:38 left to cut the Bombers lead to one.
After a pair of Ithaca free-throws brought the lead back to three, Shore found
Sean Murphy (Buffalo, NY/Williamsville North) (Buffalo, NY/Williamsville North) underneath for a lay-up with 43 seconds left to make it 60-59. RIT got the stop they needed on defense and
Snyder was fouled and converted a lay-up with 17 seconds left to give RIT their first lead in nearly 19 minutes.
Snyder missed the free throw, but
Drew Martin (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) grabbed the offensive rebound, was fouled and hit two free-throws with 13.9 seconds left to give RIT a 63-60 lead.
Ithaca junior Jim Bellis had a chance to tie the game with a last second 3-pointer, but his attempt glanced off the rim as time expired, clinching the win for the Tigers.
RIT led 34-32 early in the second half, before Ithaca went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes, gaining a lead they would not relinquish until the final 17 seconds. The Bombers led by as much as 11 in the second half.
Murphy led the Tigers with 20 points. Goff recorded his third double-double of the season, with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Jesse Roth led Ithaca (12-12, 7-6 Empire 8) with 21 points. Jim Bellis added 12 points for the Bombers.
The game was tied at 31 at the half. Murphy had 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Goff pulled down 10 rebounds.
Barrett Zeinfeld (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) may have produced RIT’s most flashy play of the season, as on a fast-break, he received a pass from
Shore in stride, and mid-air, threw a no-look pass behind his head to a streaking
Murphy, who scored on a lay-up with 5:27 left in the first half, giving the Tigers a 27-25 lead.
The Tigers have now won 11 of their last 12 games. RIT out-rebounded Ithaca 36-30.
RIT ends the regular season with an 18-7 record and finish second on the conference with a 12-2 E8 record. The Tigers will play either Ithaca or Utica on Saturday, February 26th in the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament at St. John Fisher. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
