Men's Basketball Halted By Ithaca, 89-59

AURORA, N.Y. – The Wells College men's basketball team posted an 89-59 loss to non-conference Ithaca College on Tuesday at the Farenthold Athletic Wing. Wells falls to 2-5 overall on the year while the Bombers improve to 5-2 on the young season.

Freshman Rich Ross (Bronx, N.Y.) poured in a team-leading 18 points for Wells, tallying nine rebounds in the defeat. Junior Chris Courtney (Auburn, N.Y.) scored 14 points while classmate Vaughndell Brantley (Syracuse, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points of his own. Junior James Feocco (Auburn, N.Y.) led the way with three steals for the Express.

Wells captured its first lead with 11:53 remaining in the first half as a tip-in by Ross propelled the Express to a 9-8 lead. Going on to lead 14-13 with 10:49 left, a three-point basket by Ithaca was answered with a three-point play from Brantley to lift Wells to a 17-16 lead with 9:42 left in the opening frame.

Ithaca put the game out of reach with a 12-0 run that was capped off by a Marc Chasin layup with 6:21 to go in the first half, creating a 28-17 lead for the Bombers. The visitors built up a game-high 30-point lead as time expired, using another 12-0 run to conclude the contest with a decisive 89-59 victory.

Chasin led players from both teams with 27 points, hauling in 15 rebounds for the Bombers. Sam Bevan and Peter Ezema each scored 14 points while Carlin Champion netted 11 points to round out the double-digit scorers for Ithaca.

Wells will return to action Saturday, Dec. 19, taking on Maine Maritime in an 8 p.m. contest at the Garnet Holiday Tournament, hosted by Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pa.