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Engineers
Ricky Philatre
Tom Killips

Men's Basketball Perry Laskaris, sports information assistant

Men's Basketball Beaten by Ithaca in ECAC Upstate Semifinals

Philatre and Rupp record double-doubles in 88-67 loss

Ricky Philatre
Box Score

BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Seniors Ricky Philatre and Tim Rupp each recorded a double-doubles, but it wasn't enough as the Rensselaer men's basketball team fell to Ithaca College, 88-67, in the Semifinals of the ECAC Upstate Tournament. The Engineers conclude their season with a 15-10 record.

Philatre (Randolph, MA/Randolph) notched 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Rupp (Staten Island, NY/Curtis) dropped in 11 points and 10 boards. Junior DJ Blakemore (Bloomfield Township, MI/Lahser) added in with 10 points for The Engineers.

Rensselaer scored six of the first eight points of the game, but its lead was short lived as Ithaca then went on a 12-2 run to take a 14-8 lead with 14:27 left in the first half. Three-pointers from Chris Cruz-Rivas (Syracuse/West Genesee) and Jordan Marcus (West Orange, NJ/Solomon Schechter) highlighted the spurt.

Ithaca's lead grew over the next 11 and half minutes, as the Bombers built a 23-point advantage (49-26) with 3:04 to go in the opening frame. The Engineers ended the half on an 8-0 run to pull within 49-34. Blakemore turned in four of those points on a pair of lay-ups.

The Engineers continued to cut into the Ithaca lead in the early stages of the second half, as Blakemore and Philatre each delivered buckets to draw with 11 (49-38).

Ithaca answered once again, nailing three-point baskets on three straight possessions to build its advantage back to 18 at 61-43. A jump shot by Tom Brown (Bayport, NY/Bayport-Blue Point) gave the Bombers a 22-point lead with 8:54 remaining in the contest.

A Jeremy Colon (Manchester, NH/West) hoop pulled the Engineers to within 76-57 with 6:07 to go, but Ithaca – which shot 43% (16 for 37) from beyond the arc – expanded its advantage to a game-high 24 points (86-62) with just over three minutes to play.

The Bombers were led offensively by Andrei Oztemel (Westport, CT/Staples) who scored 22 points on 6 of 9 shooting from beyond the arc. Marcus added 21 points, while Cruz-Rivas had 19.

Ithaca will face tournament host SUNY-Brockport in tomorrow Championship Game (2pm).
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