CORTLAND, N.Y. - Chris Cruz (Camillus/West Genesee) scored 22 points as Ithaca defeated Cortland, 80-56, at Corey Gymnasium in the season opener for both teams.

Sean Burton (Yorkville/Notre Dame) added 13 points, 11 in the second half, and also registered six rebounds and a game-high six assists for the Bombers, who are the preseason favorite in the Empire 8. Brendan Rogers (Liverpool) made all four of his field goals and finished with 12 points.

Sophomore Ron Evans (New Hartford) led Cortland with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Junior Paul Oliver (Phoenix) made 8-of-13 shots and finished with 16 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Both teams struggled from the field as Cortland shot 39 percent and Ithaca shot 36 percent. The visiting Bombers, however, made 22-of-24 free throws, compared to 2-of-7 for Cortland, and hit 10-of-27 three-pointers. Ithaca went 7-of-11 from behind the new 20' 9" arc in the second half.

Ithaca led most of the contest. The Bombers were up 19-12 with eight minutes left in the first half and increased the lead to 34-17 on three Jordan Marcus (West Orange, NJ/Solomon Schechter) free throws with 2:01 left. Evans, however, hit two treys in the final 40 seconds and the Red Dragons were within 34-23 at halftime.

Cortland got within nine points on an Oliver layup with 17:25 left, but Ithaca slowly pulled away and led by 20 or more points the final 10 minutes.

Box Score