Aidan Holmes (Saratoga Springs, NY), Logan Wendell (Bradford, VT) and Evan Cabral (Hackensack, NJ) combined for 63 points to lift Ithaca to an 80-69 triumph over Stockton on Friday afternoon in a NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament first round contest inside WPI's Harrington Auditorium.
Ithaca improves to 19-9 overall and advances to the tournament's second round on Saturday at 5:30pm versus the host Engineers, an 81-71 winner over Husson in Friday's other first round matchup in Worcester. The victory was the first in the NCAA Tournament since the Bombers defeated Babson in 2020. Stockton sees its season end with a 19-9 mark.
Stockton's Jahmir Payoute (Irvington, NJ) opened the scoring, but Ithaca's Cabral quickly answered with a layup to knot the game at 2-2. The Bombers then surged ahead with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a field goal and a three-pointer from Holmes, building a 10-3 advantage with 15:05 left in the first half. Stockton's Tayvon Gaither (Mt. Laurel, NJ) responded with back-to-back buckets, but Ithaca maintained control as Wendell and Cabral drained consecutive threes to push their lead to 16-9 at the 12:14 mark. The Bombers extended their advantage to double digits, 27-15, after two more three-pointers, but Logan McKee (Glen Mills, PA) answered with a deep shot of his own for the Ospreys, trimming the deficit to nine with 7:46 remaining in the half.
The rest of the half saw back-and-forth action, but Ithaca steadily widened the gap, reclaiming a double-digit advantage. Cabral contributed five more points for the Bombers, while Gaither kept Stockton in the fight with a pair of layups. As the teams headed to the locker room, Ithaca held a 39-26 lead at the break.
Cabral and Holmes led Ithaca with 13 and 12 points respectively, with Wendell adding five points and four rebounds. Gaither notched 10 points for Stockton, while Mckee tallied five points and four boards.
Christian Armstrong-Thomas (Marlton, NJ) sparked the second half with two quick layups for the Ospreys, but Ithaca stayed in control as Cabral, Holmes, and Wendell extended the Bombers' lead to 16, making it 46-30 with 17:58 remaining. A series of back-and-forth free throws pushed Ithaca to its largest lead of the game at 18, 52-34, before McKee responded with a three-pointer for Stockton at the 14:19 mark. The teams continued to trade baskets, with EJ Matthews-Spratley (Cherry Hill, NJ) delivering a perfect 3-for-3 performance from the line for Stockton, while Wendell knocked down three buckets for the Bombers, stretching Ithaca's advantage to 61-42 with 11:18 left to play.
Stockton saw five straight free throws to cut the deficit, but Ithaca held on with more free throws and good defensive play. The Ospreys cut the deficit to just nine with help from a 7-1 spurt and 2-for-2 performances by both Mckee and Jamar Johnson (Penns Grove, NJ), bringing the score to 76-67 with 1:34 to play. The Bombers were able to maintain their advantage for the rest of the contest, seeing the final score concluded at 80-69.
Holmes led the Bombers with 23 points and six boards. Wendell notched a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Cabral tacked on 20 points and four steals. For the Ospreys, Mckee had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Gaither and Matthews-Spratley each tallied 14 points, with Armstrong-Thomas grabbing 10 boards.
Ithaca shot 43.5% (27-of-62) of field goals while Stockton made 24-of-67 (35.8%) on the game. The Ospreys saw a 22-7 edge in bench points, while the Bombers held an 11-3 advantage in made three-pointers.
Recap Written by WPI Sports Information Student Assistant Maya Vartabedian '24 '25