Fisher, Ithaca, Naz and Stevens Earn Win

2/15/2014 9:05:00 PM

Ithaca 86, Utica 84 (Box Score)
The Ithaca College men's basketball team wrapped up its home season with an exciting comeback win in the final minute and defeated Utica 86-84 on Saturday afternoon at Ben Light Gymnasium. Ithaca scored the game-winning basket with four seconds left and blocked Utica's game-tying attempt at the buzzer to get the victory.

With the game tied and under a minute remaining, Ithaca got a stop at the defensive end by forcing a contested shot late in the shot clock to set up the final possession. The Bombers scored the game-winning basket after a series of passes led to a basket in the paint from Mitchell on an assist from Joe Masino. Utica inbounded the ball with 4.2 seconds remaining and drove the length of the court but the layup attempt was blocked off of the backboard by Tom Sweeney to clinch the victory.

St. John Fisher 105, Alfred 83 (Box Score)
The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team saved its best for last, scoring a season-high 105 points to extend its winning streak to five games after a 22-point road win over conference foe, Alfred University Saturday afternoon.

Fisher sank a season-high 39-of-48 free-throws (81%) in the win, while also connecting on nearly 61% of its shots from the field.  The Cardinals' defense also played big, holding Alfred to 44% shooting for the game, while forcing the Saxons into 16 turnovers.

The Cardinals took the lead for good at the 12:25 mark of the first half after Hart drained a pair of foul shots to break a tie game, making it 22-20.

After swapping baskets, Fisher would jump out to a 10-point lead courtesy of an 11-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from Hart.

The Saxons would cut Fisher's lead to single digits, but the Cardinals exploded as the half wore on, outscoring the home team 18-4 over the final 7:15 of the first half as Fisher went into the locker room holding its largest lead of the game, 57-33.

Alfred came out a different team in the opening minutes of the second half.  The Saxons quickly erased Fisher's advantage after orchestrating a 17-2 run to bring it to 59-50 with 16:36 left to play.

Both teams continued to battle before Alfred would eventually come to within seven points, but that was as close as the Saxons would come.  Fisher took control, scoring 11 unanswered points to stretch its lead back to 16.

Nazareth 75, Elmira 49 (Box Score)
Senior Jack Giles scored a game-high 24 points and the Ford brothers -- senior Brad and sophomore Mitch -- combined to score 37 more for visiting Nazareth Saturday as the Golden Flyers defeated Elmira, 75-49, in an Empire 8 Conference men's basketball game at the Speidel Gymnasium.

Nazareth took control early after Elmira scored the first basket of the game. Nazareth then scored the next eight points -- a dunk by Maurice Mills, two baskets by Mitch Ford and one by Giles -- and never trailed again. The lead grew as large as 14 points, 41-27, following a three-point basket by Cody Sarkis with :56 left in the half. Elmira's Josh Keys was fouled in the act of shooting a three-pointer on the next possession and he sank all three subsequent free throws to trim the score to 41-30 at the break.

Nazareth continued its torrid shooting in the second half by making 13 of 23 shots (56.5 percent) and the lead never left double digits. Brad Ford scored 13 of his points over the final 20 minutes. With 1,437 career points, Ford moved into sixth place on Nazareth's all-time list. He also surpassed the 900 mark in career rebounding and currently ranks second all-time with 907. Only Chris Pegan (1994-98), with 946, has more.


Stevens 100, Houghton 59 (Box Score)
The Stevens Institute of Technology men's basketball team improved to 16-7 with a 100-59 win at Houghton College Saturday afternoon.
 
A season-high 13 different players scored points as the Ducks shot 51.5 percent for the game, including 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from three and 23-for-39 (59 percent) at the line. The Ducks tallied 20 assists as a team and committed just 12 turnovers, compiling eight total steals and four blocked shots.
 
Leading 14-13 with 12:48 to play in the first half, the Ducks closed the half with a 37-12 run to take a 51-25 lead into the locker room. A Sabatino three-pointer with 12:28 on the clock sparked the run and his layup with 10:07 to play in the opening period gave the Ducks a 26-16 lead. The lead moved to 22 points (38-16) thanks to Klimchak's second three-pointer of the first half.
 
A Gan layup with 15:43 left in the second half marked the first 30-point advantage of the afternoon for Stevens, and a layin from freshman guard Michael Langford gave the Ducks their first 40-point edge of the day.
 
The 100 points is the second-highest total of the season for Stevens and the 41-point win is the team's largest of the year.

SCHOOL	CONF	OVERALL
Stevens	9-3	16-7
Alfred	8-4	17-6
Nazareth	8-4	16-7
Hartwick	8-4	13-9
St. John Fisher	9-5	16-9
Elmira	5-7	10-13
Ithaca	2-11	7-17
Utica	1-12	7-16
Houghton	0-0	3-20
Houghton is an NCAA provisional member and is not eligible for postseason. Games against the Highlanders will not impact conference records/standings.