Men's basketball falls to Ithaca, 85-63, in National City final

Ithaca/Allegheny Boxscore

Baldwin-Wallace/Hilbert Boxscore

MEADVILLE, Pa. – The Allegheny College men’s basketball team played the Ithaca Bombers to an even first half, heading into the locker room tied, 34-34. However, Ithaca outscored the Gators by 22 points in the second half to win, 85-63, and claim the National City Holiday Classic Championship.

Jeff Bostic, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, finished the game with 19 points, 22 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. Sean Burton added 23 points and five assists for the Bombers.

Down 7-4 in the first half, Ithaca went on an 11-0 run before the Gators slowly battled their way back to gain the lead on three separate occasions. Craig Devinney (Allison Park, Pa./Shaler) closed out the half, finishing a layup with four seconds left. He also made the ensuing free throw to forge the halftime tie.

Burton sparked the Bombers in the second half, scoring 11 points during a 15-4 opening run. Ithaca eventually outscored Allegheny, 29-10, during the first eight minutes, 48 seconds of the period and built a 63-44 lead.

Devinney was the Gators’ top scorer, finishing with 17 points. George Raftis (Pittsburgh, Pa./Sewickley Academy) added nine points, nine rebounds and six assists.

Sean Leahy and Chris Cruz added 13 points apiece to the Ithaca effort while Scott Ruffrage contributed four steals.

In Sunday’s tournament consolation game, Baldwin-Wallace defeated Hilbert, 90-84, in overtime. The Yellow Jackets were led by Andrew Bene, who had 25 points and 12 rebounds. Kyle Brown added 17 points and 13 rebounds while Zane Meeder put in 18 points. Dan Terrette led Hilbert with 21 points. Andy Marchand added 19 points and six rebounds.

The All-Tournament Team consisted by Bostic (Ithaca), Burton (Ithaca), Raftis (Allegheny), Bene (Baldwin-Wallace) and Marchand (Hilbert).

The Gators will play next on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when they visit Gannon of NCAA Division II. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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