On Friday evening inside Ben Light Gymnasium, the Ithaca College men's basketball team kicked off Liberty League play with a resounding 88-65 victory over Vassar College. Logan Wendell led the way with an astonishing 36 points, helping the Bombers improve to 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in league play.

Defensive Struggles Turned into Offensive Brilliance

The game started as a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to find the back of the net. It wasn't until 18:37 left in the half that Vassar managed to go 1-for-2 at the line. Jaylon O'Neal then scored the game's first basket, giving IC a 2-1 lead. Aidan Holmes' three successful free throws at 14:40 extended IC's lead to 5-1 and ended the scoring drought. Vassar finally made their first basket with 14:09 remaining.The Bombers' offense took off from there. Wendell's 3-pointer and subsequent assist on a layup by Cole Wissink gave IC a 13-3 lead. However, Vassar went on a run and tied the game at 15-15. Wendell then stepped up, making two shots at the line to put IC back ahead, 17-15. He continued his hot streak, draining nine straight points to push the lead to 26-19 with 4:42 to play.The Brewers briefly cut IC's lead, but Wendell responded with a three-point play to make it 29-22. Cole Wissink's 3-pointer and layup, along with a fastbreak layup from Jaylon O'Neal, gave the Bombers a 14-point edge at 36-22 with just under three minutes remaining. The half ended with IC leading 38-25, with Wendell scoring 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting and 8-of-9 at the line.

Second Half Explosion

Less than a minute into the second half, IC built their largest lead at 15 points, 40-25, on an Evan Cabral layup. Cabral then converted a three-point play and Chris Leysath went 1-for-2 at the line to make it 48-31. With 15:17 left in the game, Wendell nailed a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 18 points at 55-37. The Brewers fought back and closed the gap to eight points at 59-51 with 12:02 to go. But Wendell's three on the next possession reestablished a double-digit lead at 62-51, and the Bombers called timeout.The Bombers pulled away late in the contest, going up by 23 points at 84-61 with 2:45 on the clock. The final score was 88-65. Wendell finished the evening 10-of-16 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Cabral added 10 points and nine rebounds, while Holmes chipped in 13 points. Wissink contributed nine points and Leysath added seven points and nine rebounds. O'Neal finished with nine points.Tomorrow, Ithaca hosts Bard at 4 p.m., looking to continue their winning streak.