ITHACA, N.Y. – Senior Kevin McMahon (Hoosick Falls) and junior Lamard Herron (Westbury) combined for 53 points and each registered career-high point totals as Cortland improved to 3-0 with a 79-63 non-league win at Ithaca.

McMahon scored 27 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and 10-of-14 free-throw accuracy. He also led the Red Dragons with 12 rebounds. Herron made 10-of-18 shots from the floor, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and finished with 26 points. Senior Garen Spendjian (Glen Cove) scored 10 points, sophomore Blair Estarfaa (Buffalo/Maryvale) added eight points and sophomore T.J. Hefele (Greenlawn/Friends Academy) finished with a career-high six assists along with five points and five rebounds.

Ithaca (2-4), an NCAA "Sweet 16" team last season, was led by Sam Bevan's 17 points. Christian Jordan made 3-of-7 treys in a 14-point effort and Frank Mitchell totaled 12 points and 12 rebounds.

The Red Dragons led 16-9 with 10:52 left in the first half, but the Bombers scored 16 straight points and took a 25-16 lead with 6:52 remaining. Cortland closed to within 30-28 with 3:05 left on a McMahon 4-point play, but Ithaca finished the half on a 7-1 run and led by eight at halftime.

Cortland, however, outscored Ithaca in the second half, 50-26. Herron scored 19 of his points in the period on 7-of-11 shooting, 3-of-4 from the 3-point arc. The Red Dragons shot 58 percent from the field in the second half after hitting only 30 percent of their shots in the first 20 minutes. Ithaca, conversely, shot only 33 percent in the second half after making 50 percent of its first-half shots.

The Red Dragons opened the second half on a 15-3 run featuring eight points by Herron and led 44-40 with 15:53 remaining. Cortland slowly increased the lead to 56-46 with 11:41 left after a Spendjian 3-pointer and held at least an 7-point lead the rest of the game. Ithaca was within seven at 64-57 on a Bevan layup with 4:31 left, but McMahon answered with a jumper at the 4:16 mark and Spendjian hit a foul shot with 3:46 on the clock. Cortland outscored the Bombers 11-4 over the final three minutes.

Cortland finished the game 11-of-22 from 3-point range. In addition to Herron's four treys, Spendjian made 3-of-5 from the arc and Estarfaa was 2-of-3.

Cortland opens SUNYAC play on Friday at home versus Potsdam at 8 p.m. and Saturday against Plattsburgh at 4 p.m