Cardinals Reach Milestones in Fisher Woodcliff Win

12/29/2011 10:35:00 PM

The St. John Fisher College men’s basketball team defeated Westminster College 85-62 on Thursday in a game that featured many highlights for those wearing cardinal and gold.  The victory in the first round of the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Tournament improves Fisher to 6-3, while Westminster falls to 2-8 on the season.

Senior Jordan Gettings recorded his 1,000^th point in the win, while Jason Norsen finished just one block shy of a triple-double.  Norsen dominated in the post, totaling 18 points, 16 rebounds and nine rejected shots.  First-year Cardinal Optimystik Kinard recorded his highest point total of the season, leading all players with 20 points.

Gettings recorded 17 points in the contest, just enough to hit the milestone on his final shot attempt of the game.  The guard also finished with seven rebounds. 

Norsen had his ninth-straight game with double digit points, as the junior has yet to score less than 14 points during the 2011-2012 campaign.  His nine total blocks set a Fisher record, passing Matt Jones who recorded eight blocks twice during the 1998-99 season.

Coming off of the bench, Kinard scored 10 points in each half, while also grabbing eight rebounds and going a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe.

The Cardinals nearly doubled the production of the visitors in the second half, outscoring the Titans 46-25 in the final 20 minutes.  With the score 55-53 with 11:10 remaining, the Fisher defense held Westminster to just 11 points, while the offense racked up 30 points in the span.

Fisher led 39-37 at the half, thanks to a monster first-half from Norsen.   The junior snagged his 10^th rebound of the game with just under two minutes left and finished the opening period with 13 points, 10 boards and four blocked shots, while shooting 6-for-6 from the floor.

With the win, Fisher will face Dickinson College, who hit a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in regulation, and defeated unbeaten Medaille College 75-72 in overtime. The championship game will take place at 3 p.m. on Friday.