UTICA, N.Y. - The Ithaca College men's basketball team defeated the Utica University Pioneers on the road on Wednesday night, 82-78, in comeback fashion as IC overcame an 18-point second half deficit at the Clark Athletic Center. The Bombers improve to 3-1 on the season and snap a five-game losing streak to the Pioneers, who were 4-0 coming into tonight's game and have appeared in the NCAA Division III Championship each of the past two years.

The Bombers spread the points around throughout the game with Logan Wendell recording 15 points, Evan Cabral had 14 points, and Aidan Holmes finished with 13. However, it was a tail of two halves as Wendell led the team in the first half with 10 points. Then Holmes and Cabral led the 18-point comeback in the second half with Holmes getting 11 points and Cabral recorded all 14 of his points in the second half.

The Bombers got off to a rough start giving up the first five points of the game leaving them to trail 5-0 then shortly after that 9-3. After that the Bombers struggled to get close to the Pioneers throughout the first half, as every time the Bombers would get within a few points the Pioneers would pull away again.

At the end of the first half as a team the Bombers 12-for-30 from the field, and 7-for-16 from beyond the arc. However, the two bright spots for the Bombers in the half were Wendell and Chris Leysath. Wendell shot two for two from 3-point range and had 10 points; Leysath also added six points and seven rebounds.

Starting off the second half the Bombers trailed by nine with a score of 49-40. The Pioneers turned the nine-point lead into a 16-point lead very quickly with seven straight points to start the half to lead 56-40. 

The Bombers then came storming back to get within four for the first time since the first half. The Bombers scored fourteen straight points on the back of a layup from Jose Padilla which was followed by four three-pointers from Cole Wissink, Holmes, and Cabral who made two.

Ithaca then got within two on another shot from beyond the arc from Laurence Brady. This was followed by Wendell tying the game for the first time since the start at 70-70 with a layup. Thomas McKiernan then gave the Bombers their first lead of the night by making three straight free throws and then hit a 3-pointer to put IC ahead, 76-72. Then after trading points in the last few minutes of the game, Wendell iced the game with back-to-back foul shots to win 82-78.

The Bombers next game is on Tuesday, December 3rd at 7:30 p.m. at the University of Rochester.