| 2/17/2007 6:15:59 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT men's basketball team clinched a spot in the Empire 8 tournament with a 73-63 win over Elmira College on Saturday afternoon. The win earns the Tigers the fourth seed in next week's tournament. RIT will play top-seeded St. John Fisher College on Friday, February 23 at 6 pm.

RIT fell behind by seven early in the first half but rallied with an 8-0 run and took a 12-11 lead on a layup by senior Tim Bacon (Massena. NY/Massena) (Massena, NY).

The Tigers outscored Elmira 25-13 over the final 13 minutes of the half to lead 37-24 at the break. Bacon led RIT with 10 first-half points and six rebounds. Barrett Zeinfeld (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) added nine points and Rick Whitwood (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) (Wellsville, NY) added six points.

RIT opened the second half with a 10-2 run, extending their lead to 47-26 on a free throw by Tim Bacon (Massena. NY/Massena).

The Tigers maintained their lead throughout the second half, shooting 40% from the floor, including 3-of-8 from three-point land.

Bacon led RIT with 19 points in his final appearance at Clark Gymnasium. The senior center grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Zeinfeld finished with 15 points.

Senior forward Rob Hampton (Ocala, FL/Belleview) (Ocala, FL) was honored at halftime with the Stephen King Award.

RIT is 1-1 versus St. John Fisher this season. Each team has won a game on the other team's home floor.