Fisher Bows Out In Sweet 16
The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team saw its season come to a close in a 64-57 loss to No. 1-ranked Randolph-Macon College on Friday evening in Ashland, Virginia.
The Cardinals finish with a 25-5 overall record in one of the most successful seasons in the history of the 52-year program, having reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2006-07 season and just the fourth time ever in the program's history.
Riding a 25-game winning streak, Randolph-Macon improves to 28-2 overall and advances to the Elite 8. The Yellow Jackets host Virginia Wesleyan at 7 p.m. Saturday with the winner to participate in the Final Four.
Randolph-Macon maintained the lead from the get-go at 4-0 just one minute into the game.
Adam Ambielli put the Cardinals on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer, his 131st career tally to move into a tie for eighth in all-time 3-point field goals made.
Optimystik Kinard netted two free throws to tie the game at 9 apiece, but that would be as close as the Cardinals would get.
At halftime, Fisher trailed Randolph-Macon by just three points, 29-26. The Cardinals, who ranked third in the country in field-goal percentage (50.3%), shot 9-for-25 (36%) against the No. 40-ranked team in field-goal percentage defense.
Stefan Bock sparked Fisher's offense at the start of the second half, scoring the first basket and two free throws, to help the Cardinals stay within five points of the Yellow Jackets.
Randolph-Macon took off, though, leading by as many as 11 points with 8:50 left in the game.
With a wide open 3-pointer from Kinard and a jumper from Bock, Fisher trailed by just three points with 2:54 remaining before the Yellow Jackets sealed the win.
The Cardinals shot 37.3% from the floor, including 21.1% from long range. They made all but one free throw, shooting 15-of-16 from the charity stripe.
Tyler Hart led Fisher with a career-high 21 points, including a career-high 9-for-9 free throws.
Bock added 14 points, while Kinard finished with nine points and nine points.
Zach Ottaway grabbed a career-high six rebounds.