St. John Fisher Soars to Second Empire 8 Victory
The St. John Fisher College men’s basketball team improved to 2-1 in the Empire 8 Conference and 9-5 overall with a 69-57 win over visiting Elmira College on Friday night at Fisher’s Bobby Wanzer Court.
The Cardinals made a statement on their opening possession with Grant Wrap going hard to the boards and completing a three-point play. That intensity would last the entire contest, as the Cardinals were able to lead the Soaring Eagles by double digits nearly all game.
Elmira answered Wrap’s basket will a three-pointer to tie the game, but the visitors were never able to lead as Optimystik Kinard responded with a long-range shot of his own, taking the lead for good.
After trailing by 23 points with the score 48-25, Elmira was able to cut the lead to nine at 57-48, but senior Jordan Gettings nailed two free throws to get the lead back to 11 points.
Justin Plata recorded a career-high 20 points to lead all scorers, while also dishing out three assists. Gettings also contributed 15 points and Adam Ambielli, in his first career start, had eight points in Fisher’s second Empire 8 victory.
Plata led all scorers after the first stanza, totaling nine points after playing in all 20 first half minutes. Gettings had eight points helping Fisher to the 34-19 lead, while Kinard had seven points and four rebounds.