Empire 8

[Caz Bombers]

Ithaca is a choking disgrace.  That is all.

[Caz Bombers]

IC trying desperately to climb back in this thing, but down 6 with under a minute to go...doesn't look good.

[FisherDynasty]

there just not that great idk about a choking disgrace.  They didnt get to measure themselves up that much this year due to the awful region competition.  Ive seen Desales play they are not very good just disciplined.  What would have happened if they played a really good disciplined team.   SLU looks to be going to the sweet 16 i think they have a shot at the final 4.

[Bombers798891]

57-48 with 7:35 left. Keep hiking 3's, boys. Ithaca just can't adjust. Mullins getting outcoached. The plan for IC's opponent is easy: frustrate them, work the shotclock and then take them off the dribble. It's now or never for the Bombers. Can this group win ONE postseason game of any importance in their careers? We'll see.

Ithaca, down 66-53, mounts a frantic rally over the last four minutes, but just dug themselves too deep a hole. Season comes to a disappointing end as DeSales tops the Bombers, 77-71 

It's amazing to me that a team loaded with so many good free throw shooters wouldn't attempt to draw some fouls and get to the line where they would have a significant advantage over other teams and instead just guns threes. Ithaca takes a total of five free throws, and throws up a staggering 41 threes.

Also, what happened to this team's defense? Nazareth turns out a nice little 63.3% and then DeSales goes over 50%. Just can't let that happen.

It's a shame, because this group of kids really could have put together a special season with a nice run here in the NCAA's. It was a great regular season, but unfortunately, this team is going to be remembered more for what they didn't accomplish than what they did.

Maybe that's a cynical outlook, and somewhat unfair to the team, but once the conference slate started, it became pretty apparent that the Bombers were going to cruise through the regular season and their performance in the NCAA's would define their legacy.

41-9 in the regular season, 0-2 in the E8 Tourney, 0-1 in the NCAA's. I wouldn't go so far as to term the a "disgrace"...that's too harsh. However, they were a team unable to perform at their best when it mattered the most, and there's no debating that

So where does Ithaca go from here? Most of the key players graduate, with Cruz, Marcus and Brown being the notables returning. Is it a return to the mediocre seasons of 14-12, 16-13 and the like that plagued the program from 2003-2007 before this group came into their own?

[Jonny Utah]

This is the first Ithaca basketball game Ive seen since probably Steve Dunham played (yea, Im old), but to me it seemed like one of those 'live by the three, die by the three' games.

Ive seen the Celtics win the way Ithaca played tonight (without Garnett), but IC seemed a little too small on defense, and a little to eager on offense.

[Bombers798891]

This is the first Ithaca basketball game Ive seen since probably Steve Dunham played (yea, Im old), but to me it seemed like one of those 'live by the three, die by the three' games.

Ive seen the Celtics win the way Ithaca played tonight (without Garnett), but IC seemed a little too small on defense, and a little to eager on offense.

Yeah, that's what Ithaca usually says when they lose, but it's a cop-out. They'll go 15-34 in some meaningless regular season game, but 15-72 in the two biggest games of the season.

In the E8 Tournament/NCAA's, this group shot 22-97 from three point range over three games. No-one cares about the three you hit up 40 points against Elmira in the regular season if you're going to miss them when the games actually mean something.

I hope no-one comes on and tries to pin this loss on the crowd too

[Jonny Utah]

This is the first Ithaca basketball game Ive seen since probably Steve Dunham played (yea, Im old), but to me it seemed like one of those 'live by the three, die by the three' games.

Ive seen the Celtics win the way Ithaca played tonight (without Garnett), but IC seemed a little too small on defense, and a little to eager on offense.

Yeah, that's what Ithaca usually says when they lose, but it's a cop-out. They'll go 15-34 in some meaningless regular season game, but 15-72 in the two biggest games of the season.

In the E8 Tournament/NCAA's, this group shot 22-97 from three point range over three games. No-one cares about the three you hit up 40 points against Elmira in the regular season if you're going to miss them when the games actually mean something.

I hope no-one comes on and tries to pin this loss on the crowd too

It might be a cop out, but isnt that the way they played? (all the threes)

How many Ithaca games to they streamline during the regular season?

[Bombers798891]

This is the first Ithaca basketball game Ive seen since probably Steve Dunham played (yea, Im old), but to me it seemed like one of those 'live by the three, die by the three' games.

Ive seen the Celtics win the way Ithaca played tonight (without Garnett), but IC seemed a little too small on defense, and a little to eager on offense.

Yeah, that's what Ithaca usually says when they lose, but it's a cop-out. They'll go 15-34 in some meaningless regular season game, but 15-72 in the two biggest games of the season.

In the E8 Tournament/NCAA's, this group shot 22-97 from three point range over three games. No-one cares about the three you hit up 40 points against Elmira in the regular season if you're going to miss them when the games actually mean something.

I hope no-one comes on and tries to pin this loss on the crowd too

It might be a cop out, but isnt that the way they played? (all the threes)

How many Ithaca games to they streamline during the regular season?

It is, but they showed that they don't have the ability to adapt their game when they need to (I.E. when the three's aren't falling)

[BJ - DSU SID]

Let me start by saying that Ithaca did a great job hosting tonight's NCAA game.  The staff and people were all very professional and accomodating.

First chance I got to see Sean Burton (All-American) play.  Terrific player.  I was impressed with his game, but I think Braswell (junior on DeSales) really bothered him tonight.  Braswell has come into his own this season and I think the national scene is starting to take notice.  He guarded Burton all night, forcing him into 6-for-18 shooting and seven turnovers.  Added 27 points and 13 boards of his own (both career-highs).

Little harsh to say Ithaca is a "choking disgrace".  I have not seen them play ever until tonight but from reading the stats, it seems as though they shoot a lot of three's every game.  Their numbers were staggering from three-land prior to the game.  I thought our defensive pressure really forced them into a tough shooting night.  The Bombers had a terrific season. did not end favorably but they should be proud of what they accomplished.

FisherDynasty...in response to your quote of DeSales being "not very good, but disciplined"

We are 24-5, Freedom Conference champions, with regular season wins over nationally ranked teams (St. John Fisher, Randolph-Macon, and now Ithaca, two of which are on the road), and in the Sweet 16.

What exactly is your definition of a "Good" team?

[Caz Bombers]

About 8 days ago we were 24-1, with the 1 loss coming on a three-pointer after the buzzer that the refs mistakenly allowed (would have gone to OT).  Ranked in the d3hoops.com Top 10.  Next 2 games - noncompetitive loss to a .500 Nazareth team and then 2nd half melting against NCAA caliber DeSales.  Obviously DeSales is a very strong team, but come on.  We got a bye, we're at home, and then we do this.

It's absolutely a choke job and a disgrace.  No other word for it.  Same damn thing happened in football against Dem Spicy Boyz (Curry).  Bombers798891 is exactly right, it's back to 14-12 seasons again.  IC had a tremendous opportunity to actually do something in a sport it's not known for excelling in, and it failed miserably.  Couldn't even win 1 damn playoff game.  Absolutely pathetic.

[gobombers15]

The seeds of this loss were sown long ago. When Ithaca decided that it would rather cast its lot with three unproven or inconsistent players—Cruz, Rogers, Leahy—rather than running a large chunk of its offense through one of the best players in the conference who is athletically superior to anyone he matches up with, Ithaca made these kind of results more likely. I counted two—TWO!—pick-and-rolls with Burton and Bostic tonight. Pathetic. Instead of working on things during those blowouts that would have proved helpful in tight games against equivalent competition, Ithaca stayed with its chuck-and-duck style because it worked against the lesser competition in the E8.

And Ithaca's inability to make adjustments in the last two games is an indictment of Mullins. Naz and DeSales both spread out Ithaca, worked the shot clock and took Ithaca's ambivalent defenders to the hoop. And Mullins could never counter. Ithaca's frustrations would carry over to the offensive end where they would hike up the first quasi-open three-pointer they saw instead of taking the ball to the hoop and taking higher percentage spots. At what point should the coach be REQUIRED to say, "hey, guys, we're shooting 16% from three right now, let's try getting to the hoop or getting it to our big guys down low?" I'd wonder if Mullins ever said this, but looking at the amount of 3's taken, I already know the answer to that.

This will always be an Ithaca team who will be remembered fondly for their great regular season successes, plenty of school records and probably the best player the young conference has seen. But it will also be remembered for never winning an E8 Tourney game, nor a NCAA game. At the end of the day, I think there's a fair argument that this group actually underachieved. They just never got it done when the chips were down in the big games. It's harsh, but probably true.

[John McGraw]

And with another basketball season in the books, the baseball team opens up its' schedule on Sunday. After two straight heartbreaks in the tournament for football and men's hoops, hopefully the baseball team can right the ship.

[Bombers798891]

And with another basketball season in the books, the baseball team opens up its' schedule on Sunday. After two straight heartbreaks in the tournament for football and men's hoops, hopefully the baseball team can right the ship.

Doubtful. When's the last time they made it out of the regionals? I remember when I mentioned to Coach V, that the Basketball team never won an E8 tourney game he said "Kind of like us and the regionals"

It's a problem a lot of the premier sports at IC have. The Men's lax team went five straight years without winning one before last year. The men's soccer team has had the same problem. Thank god for women's soccer and softball

[NaztyNate]

I just cant believe he wouldnt run more 2 man action with Burton and Bostic. I understand live by the 3 die by the 3 blah blah but when you have 2 players of their caliber on the same D3 court you need to isolate them. Just makes me sick that this team was one and done.

[FisherDynasty]

dsu  think desales is a good team.  they are very disciplined and fundamental and braswel is talented at the pg position.  I think they are a top 25 team (20-25) range at best though.  I dont think they have the horses inside or the wing play to be considered a top caliber teams that ive seen in the past.  they beat fisher yes, but fisher is down compared to prior years.  I think randolph macon may even be down as well.  great win against ithaca though they are won of the tougher teams in the bracket and good luck in the rest of the games.