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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Sophomore
Greg Lothridge had 22 points and a team-high 11 rebounds and five blocked shots to lead host Nazareth to a 91-85 victory over Ithaca in an Empire 8 conference men's basketball game. Senior
Corey McAdam also had a game-high 27 points for the Golden Flyers, which increased his career point total at Nazareth to 1,733.
With the victory, the Golden Flyers improve to 15-7 overall and 10-3 in the Empire 8. The Bombers drop to 14-7 overall and 7-5 in E8 contests. Nazareth is currently in second place in the conference standings as teams position themselves for the upcoming conference tournament, February 26-27. The victory also avenges Nazareth's earlier season loss to Ithaca. The Bombers are in fourth place in the E8 standings.
The Golden Flyers tallied 53 points in the first half against the Ithaca defense, which gave Nazareth a 53-32 halftime lead. The Golden Flyers scored just 57 total points in its first regular season game against Ithaca. Nazareth's offense surged in the first half as the Golden Flyers connected on over 55 percent (20-36) of their field goals while holding Ithaca to 37 percent (13-35). Nazareth was also 82 percent (9-11) from the free throw line in the first period, and finished the game shooting over 75 percent from the charity stripe (22-29). McAdam connected on 12 of his 13 free throw opportunities to lead the Golden Flyers.
Nazareth's clutch shooting gave the Golden Flyers a 23-point lead at halftime and twice in the first minutes of the second half. After freshman
Tyshun Stephens connected on a two-point jumper giving the Golden Flyers a 57-34 lead with 17:55 to play, however, the Bombers stormed back with a 31-7 scoring run to take a 65-64 lead with 8:41 remaining in regulation. Ithaca's run spanned just over nine minutes. The Bombers continued to pressure the Golden Flyers and took a 70-66 lead 1:21 later. Ithaca's scoring run was thanks to its defense, which forced Nazareth into 14 total turnovers. The Bombers also improved to shooting 47 percent (22-47) from the field in the second half.
The Golden Flyers' weathered Ithaca's run and two free throws from McAdam cut the Nazareth deficit to two points. Sophomores
Jason Corletta and
Phil Scaffidi added a free throw and layup, respectively, to reclaim the Golden Flyers' lead, 71-70, with 5:24 to play. In the next minute, Lothridge tallied the next six points of the game to extend Nazareth's lead to seven points. Lothridge sandwiched an authoritative two-handed dunk between two sets of free throws for his personal scoring run. After Lothridge shifted the momentum back in Nazareth's favor, the Golden Flyers held a multiple-possession lead during the final minutes to secure the victory.
Stephens and Scaffidi added 15 points and 14 points, respectively. Scafidi also grabbed 10 rebounds, which gave him his second double-double of the weekend. Corletta finished with seven points and nine rebounds. McAdam had nine rebounds and eight assists in addition to his 27 points.
Phil Barera had a team-high 23 points for Ithaca and he also added eight rebounds. Jordan Marcus scored 18 points while Sean Rossi tallied 17 points. Chris Cruz-Rivas finished with a team-high 11 rebounds and added eight points. Tom Brown chipped in with eight points and seven boards for the Bombers.
The Golden Flyers travel to RIT Tuesday evening for another key E8 contest. Nazareth is looking to catch St. John Fisher, who is two games ahead in the standings.