SCHENECTADY, NY – Senior guard Jim Bellis (Bloomfield, NY/Bloomfield Central) scored 17 points with three assists to lead Ithaca to an 86-83 victory over Union in an ECAC Division III Men's Basketball Quarterfinal Game Wednesday night at the Viniar Athletic Center.
With the win, the #7 seed Bombers (14-12) advance to Friday night's semifinal game against SUNY Brockport at 8 p.m. at Oswego. The Dutchmen end the season with a 17-11 record.
Five players scored in double figures for Ithaca, including Jeff Bostic (Geneva, NY/Geneva) and Dominic Scanlon (Oswego, NY/Oswego), who had 15 points each. Sean Burton (Yorkville, PA/Notre Dame) scored 12 and had five assists, while Brian Andruskiewicz (Oakdale, CT/Montville) added 10 and Jonathan Whetstone (Palo Alto, CA/Palo Alto) dished out eight assists.
Union senior guard
John Cagianello (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) became the first player in Union men's basketball history, and the fifth in NCAA Division III this season, to score 2,000 career points. He finished the game with 24, giving him 2,006 points for his Dutchmen career. He broke the barrier when he hit a jumper with 6:25 remaining in the second half. Senior guard
Brian Scordato (Mt. Kisco, NY/Horace Greeley) had a game highs of 28 points, 11 assists and four steals for the Dutchmen. He hit 10 of 14 shots from the floor and added six rebounds in his final game.
Joseph Mackey (Flushing, NY/Archbishop Molloy) added 13 for Union. Scordato finished with 1,343 career points, to rank seventh all-time.
Ithaca led 46-45 at halftime, and led by as many as eight at 74-66 with 8:04 remaining on a three-pointer by Scanlon. But Union pulled to within two on a three-pointer by Cagianello with 5:16 remaining, at 78-76, for a 12-2 run. Cagianello made two free throws to give Union an 83-82 lead with 1:28 left, but Whetstone hit the eventual game-winning layup with 18 seconds left for an 84-83 lead. After a team rebound, Ithaca's Jim Bellis (Bloomfield, NY/Bloomfield Central) scored the final basket of the game with five seconds remaining.
Ithaca shot 61% for the game while Union shot 55%, and the Bombers outrebounded the Dutchmen, 32-14 for the game.
