St. John Fisher Rallies for 22nd Consecutive Victory Over Roberts Wesleyan
The St. John Fisher College men’s basketball team rallied for a 59-57 victory over visiting Roberts Wesleyan College in an exciting Wendy’s College Classic match.
Jason Norsen's traditional three-point play with 19 seconds left gave Fisher the lead for good and marked the game's final points. The Raiders had two shots in the final seconds - both from close range - but neither fell.
The Cardinals played from behind all game long, until there was 2:11 left in the game, when Justin Plata put the home team up 56-55 on a three-pointer from the corner. However, Roberts answered with a lay-up to take a one-point lead, until Norsen’s play.
The Cardinals trailed 25-19 at the half, but scored as many points in the next ten minutes to mount the comeback.
Norsen led the game with 23 points and three blocks. Plata finished with 13 points and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Optimystik Kinard pulled down a game-high nine boards.
It was a tale of two halves for the Cardinals in the shooting department. Fisher shot 24% from the floor in the first half and 70% in the second half.
The game marked the first time the schools have met since the 2008-2009 season, with Fisher now holding a 22-game winning streak over the Raiders and Roberts last win over Fisher coming in the 1980-81 season. Fisher is now 3-3 on the season, while Roberts falls to 2-7.
Fisher will return to action at 3 p.m. on Saturday when it competes for fifth-place in the 46
th Annual Classic against SUNY Geneseo. The game will be played at Roberts Wesleyan College.