Cardinals, Saxons to Meet for Men's Title
Empire 8 Men's Basketball Tournament Web Site
ST. JOHN FISHER 90, Ithaca 75
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Top-seeded St. John Fisher College advanced to the finals of the Empire 8 Conference Championship, as the Cardinals rallied for a 90-75 win over No. 4 Ithaca College on Friday night at Fisher's Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.
With the win, Fisher, ranked 24th nationally and No. 1 in the NCAA Division III East Region, improves to 22-4 overall and will play No. 2 Alfred University at 4 p.m. on Saturday with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship on the line.
The Cardinals, who are now 9-1 all-time in Empire 8 Championship semifinals, will play for their first Empire 8 title since 2006-2007 .
Fisher led 39-35 at the half, before Ithaca tied it up at 39s in the opening moments. The Cardinals, however, responded with a 20-3 run over the next six minutes to take control.
Chaz Lott, who scored a 17 of his season-high 23 points in the second half, started the pivotal run with a 3-point play and added three layups during the stretch.
The Cardinal led by as many 18 points with 10 minutes to go, but Ithaca used a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to cut the lead down to single digits. The Bombers pulled to within seven points with three minutes left, but Fisher sealed the win at the foul line, going 9-for-10 from the charity stripe in the closing moments.
Ithaca jumped out to a 12-7 lead, but Fisher answered with a 9-0 run, capped by a deep 3-pointer from
Stefan Bock to give Fisher's its first lead of the day at 16-12 eight minutes into the game.
The two teams exchanged leads eight times over the next five minutes before Fisher took the lead for good on a 7-0 spurt on back-to-back layups from Lott and a 3-pointer from freshman
Alex Sausville to put the Cardinals up 35-26 with 4:03 left in the half.
Five players finished in double figures for the Cardinals with Lott's 23 leading the way. He also added a team-high four assists.
Bock totaled 12 points and nine boards, while
Keegan Ryan and
Tyler Hart each chipped in with 11.
Adam Ambielliadded 10 points, while
Optimystik Kinard (10 rebounds, nine points) was one point shy of his third career double-double.
As a team, Fisher shot 50% from the floor (16-for-32 in both halves) and enjoyed a 36-31 edge in rebounds.
ALFRED 79, Harwick 72
ROCHESTER, NY—The Alfred University men's basketball team denied Hartwick the three-peat in a back-and-forth matchup in the Empire 8 semifinal, 79-72, Friday evening at St. John Fisher College to win their ninth consecutive game.
Four Saxons notched double-digits in the game, with
Tyler Seelman (Lorton, VA/Hayfield Secondary) leading the way with 19 points. Countless AU players were also involved hitting clutch shots throughout the game.
The game started largely in the Saxons' favor when they opened the game with a 12-2 run in the first 2:57 of the game. Seelman carried the lion-share of the points after draining two three-pointers.
AU held onto the lead until the 6:31 mark in the first half, when Hartwick's Trevor Norton hit back-to-back free throws to grab the lead 26-25. The Hawks quickly jumped out to a 36-27, and maintained a steady pace until both teams headed to the locker room with Hartwick on top, 43-35.
Alfred University started out the second half hot as well, rattling off six points before Hartwick could find the twine. Only down by four early in the second stanza, AU mounted another run to tie the game at 50 a piece.
The next ten minutes were a struggle for supremacy with six lead changes; neither team could assert their will on their opponent. However, it was the Saxons who found the thrust, up 68-67, to give them the edge and a three-point lead with an
Eric Adams (Lebanon, NJ/Hunterdon Central) tip-in to make the game 70-67.
Hartwick looked to make a comeback in the closing minutes, but AU's staunch defense was too much for the Hawks. With the game at 72-69, Seelman put in a deep three to give the Saxons a large six-point lead with 51 seconds to go.
With a solid lead and the Hawks on the ropes the Alfred University fans rattled the Manning & Napier Gymnasium with cheers of delight. After multiple fouls to attempt to sneak their way back into the game, the Hawks were held at bay by the AU players hitting their shots from the free throw stripe. As the clock expired, AU held the seven-point lead, 79-72.
Along with his 19 points, Seelman accumulated two assists and two steals. Junior guard
Julian Reinhart (Hornell, NY/Hornell) added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists over 30 minutes of play. Senior
Dalton Walsh (Stockton, NY/Cassadega Valley) led the Saxons on the boards with nine, and matched that total in points on the night; Adams ended with 11 points and eight rebounds; Freshman
Kevin McFall (Hatsboro, PA/Upper Moreland)notched 10 points along with three rebounds.
The Saxons (19-7, E8 11-5) look to make it ten wins in a row when they return to the court to take on #1 seeded St. John Fisher College in a rematch of the February 17th matchup, where the Saxons handed SJFC their first Empire 8 loss of the season.