ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Ithaca College men's basketball team improved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Liberty League play with a hard-fought 87-79 overtime victory at Bard College on Saturday afternoon inside the Stevenson Athletic Center. After a 70-70 tie at the end of regulation, Ithaca outscored Bard, 17-9, in the five-minute extra session.

Senior Marc Chasin led the way for the Bombers with a season-high 27 points on 12-of-24 shooting, and narrowly missed out on a double-double with a career-high nine assists. Chasin also pulled down six rebounds in the win.

Junior Peter Ezema recorded his 20th career double-double on Saturday with 16 rebounds and 12 points, while classmate Matt Flood added 18 points on an efficient day from the field, going 7-for-10 overall (3-for-4 from 3-point range) with seven rebounds.

Sophomore Riley Thompson chipped in 11 points and went 3-for-6 from beyond the arc, while junior Mile Herman contributed eight points, six rebounds and three blocks. Senior Carroll Rich notched seven points, four assists and three steals for the Bombers. Senior Joey Flanagan rounded out Ithaca's scorers with four points.

The Bombers began the game with four straight points in the opening minute on buckets from Chasin and Ezema, but Bard answered with eight of the next 10 points to take an 8-6 lead with 16:29 to play in the half.

After a three-minute scoreless drought for both teams, the Raptors connected on a 3-pointer to make the score 11-6. By the 8:29 mark of the first half, Bard increased its edge to 19-10, but the Bombers would score eight unanswered points to pull to within one point at 19-18.

Chasin scored four more points during the spirt, while Ezema and Herman also factored into the scoring.

Bard would push its advantage back out to seven points at 27-20 with 1:42 left on the clock. IC battled back to a possession with a layup from Chasin and a 3-pointer by Thompson within the next 30 seconds, but a three by the Raptors in the ensuing possession made the count 30-25. Ithaca had the last say in the half with a basket from Chasin, and the Bombers went into intermission trailing, 30-27.

In the final stanza, Bard maintained its lead up until the 15:50 mark, when Flood connected from distance to give the Bombers a 41-40 edge. After a three by Bard vaulted the Raptors back in front at 43-41 with 15:28 to play, IC went on a 12-0 over the next 3:02 to establish its largest lead of the afternoon.

Bard fought back with its own 9-0 stretch to make it a one-point game at 53-52 with just over nine minutes to go, and from there, the game was played between a one- and four-point spread until a pair of Raptor free throws deadlocked the score at 70-70 with 51 second left to send the game into overtime.

In extra time, Bard started things off with a 3-pointer just 18 seconds in, but Riley came right down the floor for IC and tied the game back up with his own three. The Raptors would then score four straight points to make the score 77-73, but they would be held scoreless for the next 3:29.

Chasin poured in seven consecutive points after the 77-73 deficit to give IC an 80-77 edge at the 2:15 mark. The Bombers put the game away by going 7-for-8 at the free throw line.

Ithaca shot 34-for-74 (45.9-percent) from the field and made six 3-pointers. The Bombers also pulled down 45 rebounds and assisted on 20 baskets, and also recorded 11 steals.

The Bombers travel to Wells College on December 5 for a non-conference matchup at 7 p.m. IC will then head to the University of Rochester on the 12th for a 7 p.m. tip before heading to Florida over break for a pair of game in Daytona on the 28th and 30th.