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ITHACA, N.Y. -- Junior
Corey McAdam scored 29 points and passed for eight assists and his brother
Ryan McAdam scored 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds Saturday as Nazareth pulled off a stunning men's basketball upset with an 82-76 win over top-seeded Ithaca in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference Tournament.
Nazareth avenged two earlier defeats in which Ithaca racked up more than 100 points. The Golden Flyers improved to 13-13 overall and will play RIT Sunday at 1 p.m. for the E8 title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Ithaca, ranked eighth nationally by d3hoops.com, dropped to 24-2 overall.
"We were confident that we could do it," said Corey McAdam, who recently was selected as a first-team Empire 8 Conference all-star. "The coaches came up with a game plan and we stuck to it."
Ithaca had defeated Nazareth twice by lopsided margins during the regular season. The Bombers won 122-90 at Ithaca Jan. 9 and 113-86 at Nazareth eight days ago. Using a methodical offensive game plan to perfection, Nazareth shot a torrid 63.6 percent from the field (28 for 44), while holding the high-scoring Bombers to just 41.3 percent shooting (26 for 63), including 5 for 31 from three-point range (16 percent).
Nazareth, meanwhile, built an 11-point halftime lead, 38-27, as Ryan McAdam scored 14 of his points. Nazareth used a 12-8 scoring run to start the second half to extend its lead to a game-high 15 points, 50-35, capped by Ryan McAdam's three-pointer with 12:24 left.
Employing severe full-court pressure, Ithaca stormed back to within two, 62-60, following two free throws by Sean Burton with 5:17 to play. Nazareth then took control by scoring the next eight points -- a three-pointer and three free throws by Corey McAdam plus a basket by
Jeff DeHimer -- to push the lead back to 10, 70-60, with 3:39 left.
Ithaca kept the pressure on and closed to within three, 72-69, on a Jeff Bostic dunk with 1:20 to go. Corey McAdam made four free throws,
Phil Scaffidi made two as did Ryan McAdam to enable Nazareth to preserve the lead in the final minute.
DeHimer also had a strong game for the Golden Flyers by contributing 19 points by making all nine of his field goal attempts.
Ithaca's Burton, the E8 Player of the Year, led all scorers with 34 points, but he went just 2 for 11 from three-point range. Brendan Rogers scored 17 points and Sean Leahy added 14.
Nazareth now will shoot for its second straight conference title as the Golden Flyers meet RIT for the fourth time this season. RIT won the first meeting 94-81 in overtime; Nazareth won the next two -- 87-73 in the opening round of the JPMorgan Chase Tournament and 86-84 on a last-second three-pointer by Corey McAdam.