Two East region teams upset ranked opponents on Monday night as Ithaca defeated No. 13 Franklin and Marshall 107-97 and Union knocked off No. 21 Ramapo 97-89.
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Chris Cruz-Rivas (left) and Phil Barera paced Ithaca's upset win at Franklin and Marshall. |
Ithaca (9-2) led throughout much of the game against Franklin and Marshall (8-2) in the Sponaugle Tournament finale. The Diplomats rallied to briefly take the lead in the second half but could not pull away from the Bombers. With the game tied at 71, Ithaca used an 11 to three run to grab the lead for good. Andrei Oztemel, who finished with 29 points, hit a three with 2:16 left to keep the Ithaca advantage at double digits. Chris Cruz-Rivas tallied 27 points and 12 rebounds for the Bombers. James McNally and Georgio Milligan combined for 68 points and 19 rebounds for Franklin and Marshall.
In the first round of its Sig Makofski Classic, Union got 34 points from Justin Gallo and a victory over Ramapo. Gallo's three with five minutes remaining in the game gave the Dutchmen the lead for good. Union improves to 8-1, matching the program's best start since the 1999-2000 season. The Roadrunners drop to 9-3.
In other Top 25 action, No. 10 Eastern Mennonite dealt Ferrum its first loss of the season 85-79. Todd Phillips scored 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the Royals' victory. Ferrum entered the game 7-0 against ODAC foes. Josh Pittman scored 21 points to push Guilford past No. 12 St. Mary's (Md.) 61-57.
No. 5 St. Thomas opened a crucial stretch in MIAC play by routing St. Mary's (Minn.) 90-58. Manhattanville cracked the new Top 25 poll but the Valiants may not stay long. They lost at Moravian in the Greyhounds Starters Classic, 73-64.
Both Williams teams won on Monday night with the men defeating Elms 82-65 despite missing Troy Whittington and the women handling previously unbeaten Bridgewater State 87-68. The Ephs will play at Amherst in Saturday's non-conference showdown between ranked men's and women's teams.
Wittenberg rallied past Pitt-Bradford, playing its first game without fired coach Andy Moore or any of his three sons. Daniel Heisey scored 30 for the visitors, who led by 15 points midway through the second half before Wittenberg rallied.
In other women's action, No.21 Bowdoin downed Clark 82-46 for its ninth consecutive win. Preseason All-American Kathryn Stockbower rolled up 22 points and 18 rebounds in Swarthmore's 74-67 win at NYU. Gettysburg registered its first win ever over Scranton, 49-41.
St. Vincent played its game since coach Kristen Zawacki passed away on Christmas Day and the Bearcats won in resounding fashion. They defeated Washington and Jefferson 72-32 as the Presidents shot 21 percent from the field including 0-for-19 from three. St. Joseph's (Maine) defeated Pomona-Pitzer 58-48 in what may be Division III's longest road trip of the season. The Monks travelled more than 3,000 miles to play the Sagehens in Claremont, Calif.
St. Olaf opened the second half with a 37-4 run to defeat Augsburg 75-69, with Terin Eurle scoring all 18 of her points after halftime. Ferrum rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to beat North Carolina Wesleyan 73-67.