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ONEONTA, N.Y. -- Fourth-seeded Ithaca outscored second-seeded Nazareth 18-4 in the final eight minutes of the second half to defeat the Golden Flyers 71-55 in the men's Empire 8 championship game on Saturday, which was played at Hartwick College. Sophomore Brad Ford (Victor/Victor, N.Y.) amassed a team-high 16 points and 13 rebounds for Nazareth.

Following the loss, the Golden Flyers drop to 18-9 overall. The Bombers improve to 13-12 overall after the victory. Ithaca also clinched the automatic bid to the NCAA men's basketball tournament for winning the Empire 8 conference. Nazareth will hope to receive an at-large bid into the tournament. Pairings will be announced on Monday.

The Bombers led Saturday's contest for all but a few minutes of the action, however, the Golden Flyers remained within a few possessions of Ithaca for much of the game. Ford's layup 2:08 into the game gave Nazareth its only lead. On the Bombers' ensuing possession Andei Oztemel connected on a three-pointer to reclaim Ithaca's lead.

With just over seven minutes remaining in regulation, the Golden Flyers trailed 53-51. With an opportunity to take the lead, senior Phil Scaffidi's (St. Joseph's/Buffalo, N.Y.) three-point attempt from the baseline glanced off the rim. The Bombers took control after dodging Nazareth's rally. Ithaca scored six consecutive points to build an eight-point lead before the Bombers finished the game with their 18-4 scoring run. Junior Tyshun Stephens (Newark/Newark, N.Y.) recorded the Golden Flyers' lone field goal in the final eight minutes of regulation with a layup in the closing minutes.

After falling behind by 10 points, 25-15, midway through the period, the Golden Flyers trimmed their deficit to within four points with a 10-4 scoring run. Ford started the run with a three, which was followed by a layup by Stephens. Following baskets by the Bombers, Scaffidi connected with a shot from outside the arc and Stephens capped the run with a layup. The Golden Flyers would settle for an eight-point deficit at the half after Ithaca scored the final three points of the period.

Two minutes into the second half, Ithaca was able to stretch its lead to 12 points, 42-30. Prior to Nazareth's opportunity to take the lead on Scaffidi's shot, the Golden Flyers closed their gap to four points multiple times. Stephens and senior Greg Lothridge each scored to bring Nazareth to within four. Lothridge's dunk with 8:12 to play in the game closed Ithaca's lead to 53-51.

Stephens finished as the Golden Flyers' second leading scorer with 11 points, which gave Stephens 1,009 points in his career at Nazareth. Scaffidi and senior Jason Corletta (Pittsford Sutherland/Pittsford, N.Y.) eclipsed the 1,000-point mark earlier in the 2011-12 season. Lothridge and Corletta added nine points and eight points, respectively, to the Golden Flyers' offense. Stephens also tallied four assists while Lothridge recorded two blocks.

As a team, the Golden Flyers struggled to shoot the ball effectively against Ithaca's unrelenting defense. Nazareth finished with a shooting percentage of 32 percent (20-62), including 27 percent (6-22) from beyond the arc. Outside of Ford shooting 4-6 on three-pointers, Nazareth was 2-16 on its threes. The Golden Flyers entered the title game shooting over 34 percent from outside the three-point arc. Nazareth also finished fifty percent from the free throw line to allow Ithaca to pull away. Ford's 13 boards helped the Golden Flyers record a 45-40 advantage in total rebounds.

The Bombers had five players finish in double-digits to lead their balanced attack. Jordan Healey had 15 points to lead Ithaca. Jordan Marcus tallied 14 points, followed by Oztemel and Chris Young with 12 points apiece. Sean Rossi added 11 points and amassed a game-high seven assists. Rossi entered the tournament leading the nation in assists with 245, which averages to almost 10 assists per contest. The Bombers stretched their lead with timely baskets, especially outside the arc. Ithaca shot 50 percent (12-24) on their three-point attempts and finished at 45 percent (26-58) overall from the field.

Ithaca reached the conference championship by upsetting 21st-ranked and top-seeded Hartwick on Friday night. The Bombers maintained their multiple possession lead over the Hawks through most of the second half and went on to win by 12 points. Nazareth advanced to the conference championship by beating Stevens, 74-71, in its semifinal. It was the third time the Golden Flyers defeated the Ducks during the 2011-12 season.

Prior to Saturday's game, Ithaca had defeated Nazareth twice during the regular season. The Bombers dropped the Golden Flyers 70-63 on January 7th and 81-59 on February 3rd. In previous Empire 8 tournaments, Nazareth knocked Ithaca out of the tournament in 2009 and 2010. Saturday's victory marked the first time that the Bombers had defeated the Golden Flyers in the conference tournament.