Sophomore Luke Hicks recorded his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 23 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, but Ithaca topped the St. Lawrence University men's basketball team 64-54 in the first round of the Liberty League Tournament on Tuesday in Ithaca, New York.

Hicks also tallied four steals for the Saints, while Trent Adamson shot 4-for-7 from the floor and tallied 10 points and six rebounds. Chris Jeffrey tallied a second-best 10 rebounds and Andrew Geschickter finished with eight points and three assists.

After a quick back-and-forth battle, the Bombers took a five-point lead on a layup from Alex Barron with 8:15 to play. A 3-pointer from Geschickter brought the Saints back within two, but the Bombers extended their lead into the double-digits with just over four minutes to play in the first half. Brandon Arnold scored the last basket of the half, but the Bombers maintained a 28-19 advantage at halftime.

The Saints battled neck-and-neck with the Bombers in the second half and improved their shooting from 25.9 percent in the first to 43.75 percent in the second. The Saints only trailed the Bombers by one point in the second (36-35) half, but Ithaca used their first-half advantage to seal the win.

Sebastian Alderete shot 8-for-14 from the floor led the Bombers with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Skylar Simon finished with 13 points and Bryan Karl added nine.

The Bombers combined to shoot 40.7 percent from the field, while the Saints averaged 35.6 percent.

The Saints ended the 2019-20 season 8-17 overall, while Ithaca improved to 21-5 and will advance to play Hobart in the Liberty League semifinals.