ITHACA, N.Y. – The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) men's basketball team continued their winning ways, claiming their fourth straight victory with a pair of 20-point efforts from senior Avery Eugster and sophomore Dylan Matchett as they defeated the Ithaca Bombers by a final score of 82-66.
 
The first half was tightly contested, as both sides shared the lead multiple times. With 1:35 to play in the first half, Ithaca's Cole Wissink hit a layup to give the Bombers a three-point lead. From that point, RPI put up a 7-0 run to take a 30-26 lead with 38 seconds to play. However, a foul on a three-point shot at the buzzer gave Ithaca three free throws, setting up a 30-29 RPI advantage heading into the half.
 
Despite Ithaca shooting 50 percent from the field in the second half, the Engineers did even better going 64 percent (16-for-25) from the field, including a 7-for-10 mark from three-point range to put up 52 total points in the final stanza. Matchett, Eugster, and PJ Scalisi were the highlights from long distance in the second half, as the Engineers pulled away by as many as 19 points to claim the victory.
 
Jonny Angbazo added 15 points to the stat sheet, with Scalisi chipping in with 11 points. Eugster, Matchett, and Angbazo each snagged six rebounds, while Matchett added four assists. Freshman Andrew Deppe also handed out five assists.
 
For Ithaca, Logan Wendell and Aidan Holmes each scored 12 points on the night, with all of Holmes points coming from long distance. Evan Cabral added nine points.
 
The Engineers return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m. when they head to Schenectady to take on Union in league action.