NEWARK, N.J. (March 5, 2016) - Fourth-seeded Ithaca College defeated top-seeded Rutgers University-Newark by a score of 86-83 in the semifinals of the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) Metro/Upstate Men's Basketball Championship Saturday evening in The Golden Dome Arena.

Ithaca (15-12) advances to the title game against second-seeded New Jersey City University at 3 p.m. Sunday in The Golden Dome. NJCU (20-8) downed third-seeded Baruch College (17-14) in the other semifinal Saturday. Rutgers-Newark ends its season with a record of 20-8, reaching 20 victories for the third time in four seasons.

The Scarlet Raiders were led by senior forward Jordan McDaniel and senior guard John Snow who combined for 59 points on 23-of-44 shooting. McDaniel finished with 30 points (12-for-21), six rebounds and four assists, while Snow had 29 points, eight assists, five rebounds, one block and one steal. Senior forward David Azoroh had eight points and five rebounds, and sophomore guard Tyler Ofray had seven points, four assists, three boards and two thefts.

Ithaca was paced by sophomore guard Marc Chasin who had 27 points (10-for-19), 11 rebounds and five assists as a total of five Bombers were in double figures.

Rutgers-Newark shot 48.6 percent (34-for-70) from the field, 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from three and 8-for-10 at the line. The Scarlet Raiders had a 36-35 margin on the glass, and were plus-seven in assist-to-turnover (19-12) ratio.

Ithaca shot 47.6 percent (30-for-63) from the field, 39.1 percent (9-for-23) from distance and 81 percent (17-for-21) at the line. The Bombers tallied 18 assists (12 turnovers) and seven steals.

Rutgers-Newark led for just about the entire contest, taking a 75-62 lead with two Snow free throws with 7:15 on the clock. Ithaca trimmed the lead to six with 4:52 to go, but Snow found McDaniel for an open jumper, pushing the lead back to eight (79-71) with 4:12 showing.

From that point, the Raiders were unable to score and Ithaca went on top 80-79 for the first time since 2-0 with 1:02 left. McDaniel hit 1-of-2 at the line to tie the score at 80, but four-straight points from the Bombers gave the guests an 84-80 advantage with just 11 ticks to play. Snow hit a tough three-pointer to give R-N a chance, but it was not enough as Ithaca earned the improbable come-from-behind win.

After the Bombers netted the first two points in the game, the Scarlet Raiders went on a 14-3 run to open a 14-5 lead 4:05 into the action. McDaniel had three early buckets, with Snow adding four points.

Ithaca came back, finding itself within five points, but the Scarlet Raiders quickly countered and a three-pointer from McDaniel pushed the lead into double figures (27-16) for the first time with 6:25 left in the first.

The Bombers again clawed back, this time getting within three points, and again the Scarlet Raiders responded, closing the period on an 11-5 spurt to take a 43-34 advantage into the intermission. McDaniel's second three-pointer of the contest gave him 18 points in the game's first 20 minutes.

Fans should continue to check www.rutgersnewarkathletics.com for updates on postseason honors and a season recap video.