ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. – The Bard College men's basketball team could not prevent an early run by Ithaca as the Bombers defeated the Raptors on Friday night at Stevenson Athletic Center. The team collaborated with the Bard's Morgan's Message group to fundraise for Morgan's Message, a mental health foundation for student-athletes.

Azriel Almodovar led Bard with 17 points, adding four rebounds and a steal. Lazaros Panagiotounis followed with 14 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out three assists. Rowan Heinze contributed 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, adding four rebounds and a block.

Ahmad Rauf knocked down a three-pointer and grabbed two rebounds. Sean Wilcox pulled down six rebounds and blocked three shots, which ties him second all-time with Siondueh Burnette with 108 career blocks. Max Frei chipped in five points, two rebounds, and two steals. Azikiwe Cuffy-Scott also scored five points, going 2-for-3 from the field in 5 minutes of playing time.

Ithaca started the game 3-for-3 from the floor, going on an 8-0 run and forcing the Raptors to call a timeout. The Raptors were trailing by eight points halfway through the first half, but gained momentup with a layup from Frei and then a three-pointer from Almodovar. However, Ithaca stopped the momentum gained by Bard with a 16-4 run to end the half. The Raptors were able to get to the line for 13 free throws in the first half while preventing Ithaca from taking any.

Bard limited the Bombers' scores off turnovers in the second half, and they outscored Ithaca 14-10 in the paint. However, the Raptors could not string together a run to get back within single-digits. The pace of the second half dragged as the teams shot a combined 35 free throws. Overall, the Raptors held Jaylon O'Neal to five points on 2-of-6 shooting, well below his 10.3 point-per-game average.

The Raptors will celebrate their five seniors (Almodovar, Heinze, Panagiotounis, Rauf and Wilcox) at Senior Day tomorrow at 4 p.m. against RIT.