TROY, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball secured its first conference championship since 2013 as the Bombers defeated top-seeded Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 80-69, in overtime of the Liberty League championship game at the ECAV Center on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, which extends the winning streak to 13 games, Ithaca improves to 23-5 on the season and will earn the Liberty League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bombers will find out tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. who and where they will play next weekend.

At the conclusion of the championship contest, senior Sebastian Alderete was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Performer after he scored 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting, to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists. In the semifinals, Alderete scored 17 points with 10 boards.

After 40 minutes of action, Ithaca and RPI were tied at 66-66, but the Bombers came away with the thrilling victory by outscoring the Engineers, 14-3, during the extra five minutes of play. In overtime, senior Riley Thompson netted 12 of his 19 points. Thompson drilled back-to-back to start the extra session and then iced the contest with six free throws. He went 4-for-9 from the field and was 9-for-10 at the line on Sunday.

Junior Bryan Karl added 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Sophomore Skylar SInon tallied 15 points with eight rebounds in the victory.

In the first half of play, IC and RPI played to within a three-point spread over the opening 6:02. The Engineers then took a 16-11 lead at the 12:57 mark for the first two-possession disparity. By the 8:13 mark, Ithaca jumped back ahead, 19-18, on a layup from sophomore George Sikoryak III, but RPI responded with a 9-0 over the next two minutes to establish a 27-19 advantage.

IC responded with a 13-2 spurt over the next four minutes to go back on top, 32-29. During that stretch, Karl drilled a pair of 3-pointers, while Alderete scored five points and Sinon had the other two. RPI would tie the game at 32-32 on the next possession, but IC answered with six straight behind four points from Sinon and two from Karl. Sinon made a free throw with 4.5 seconds remaining in the half, and then RPI hit a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to account for the 38-35 halftime score.

The Bombers would build a seven-point lead early on in the second half as Alderete scored six points to put IC ahead, 44-37, at the 17:51 mark. RPI then tied the game at 46-46 just over three minutes later and flipped the lead to 50-49 with 12:29 to go.

Within the next three minutes of action, the conference foes would be tied at 52-52 and 54-54. Sinon gave the Bombers a pair of three-point leads at 57-54 and 59-56 by the 7:21 mark, but the Engineers regain the edge at 60-59 with 5:37 to go.

A jumper from Alderete 23 seconds later put IC back ahead, but a 3-pointer at the other end of the floor vaulted RPI back in front, 63-61, with 4:44 left. Thompson then tied the game at 63-63 with a pair of free throws on the next possession. RPI converted a layup with 4:05 remaining to once again take the advantage, 65-63.

After nearly two scoreless minutes, RPI went 1-for-2 at the line with 2:19 on the clock. The Bombers tightened up on defense the rest of the way and did not allow a point as the offense received three points to tie the game – one from Thompson and two from Alderete – which tied the contest at 66-66 with 41 seconds to play.

IC had the final opportunity in regulation to win the game but a layup attempt from Alderete came up short to force overtime.

It was all Bombers in the extra session as IC scored seven quick points and never looked back.

An announcement will be released tomorrow afternoon with more information on Ithaca's opening round matchup. The last time Ithaca reached the NCAA Tournament in 2012-13, the Bombers advanced to the Sweet 16.