CORTLAND, N.Y. - Cortland raced out to a 40-16 halftime lead and held off a comeback bid by Ithaca in the second half as the host Red Dragons defeated the Bombers, 80-61, in a men's basketball non-league contest.
 
Cortland (1-1) featured four double-figure scorers, led by Isaiah Austin's (Albany) 17 points. He also grabbed six rebounds. Nolan Raymond (Queens Village/Vermont Academy (VT)) scored 15 points and led the Red Dragons with five assists. Joel Davis (Watertown) scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds and Aaron Coston (Kerhonkson/Rondout Valley) finished with 11 points. Coston and Kendall Arcuri (Staten Island/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) shared the team lead with seven rebounds apiece.
 
Ithaca (0-2) was led by Evan Cabral with 19 points and Matthew Zenker with 10 points.
 
Cortland shot 47 percent in the opening half and limited Ithaca to 22 percent shooting during that period to take a 24-point halftime advantage. Davis scored 10 points and Austin tallied eight points and pulled down all six of his rebounds before intermission.
 
Cortland led by 20 points with eight minutes, but Ithaca cut its deficit in half with a 16-6 run over the next five minutes. A Cabral 3-pointer with 3:08 remaining drew the Bombers within 69-59. Cortland responded with eight straight points over the next two minutes on a Coston layup, two Raymond free throws, an Arcuri layup and an Austin layup to take control.
 
Cortland heads to Long Island this weekend for the Farmingdale State Tip-Off Tournament. The Red Dragons will play the host Rams Saturday at 1 p.m. and will face either Albright (Pa.) or St. Joseph (Conn.) Sunday in either the championship or third-place game.