By: St. John Fisher Athletics
Fresh off of winning its ninth Empire 8 Championship last weekend, the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team will be back in action on Friday as the Cardinals travel to Alliance, Ohio to take on nationally-ranked York College of Pennsylvania in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship at Mount Union.
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DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Last Saturday's win over the Golden Flyers was one of the most impressive postseason performances in Fisher's storied history after head coach
Mike Grosodonia II's squad overcame a 20-point deficit to win the Empire 8 Championship and the conference's automatic berth into this weekend's Championship Field. The Cardinals were down 35-15 with 5:48 to play in the first half before holding Naz to just 24 points in the second frame en route to the 72-64 win. Fisher's efforts marked the largest comeback win in Empire 8 Championship history.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: Last weekend's win only added to the program's pedigree as it was the ninth Empire 8 Championship in Fisher's history – Since 2000, no team has won more titles than the Cardinals. In fact, the Cardinals' nine titles are three times more than anyone else in the conference as both Nazareth and Hartwick have each won three times.
BREAKING IN YOUR DANCING SHOES: 17 times – that's how many appearances the Cardinals have made in the Field of 64 in their history. In fact, since reaching The Dance for the first time in 1992, Fisher has won its first round pairing nine times and reached the Sweet 16 on four occasions. In 2005-06, the Cardinals progressed the Elite 8 – their best finish in the national tournament. Fisher last participated in the NCAA Championship in 2017 where the team defeated St. Lawrence in the opening round before bowing out to Tufts.
EXPERIENCE COUNTS: The 2019-20 roster is as battle tested as any. With nine upperclassmen including five seniors on the team, Fisher has seen its fair share of big games. The team's senior class will be making its second appearance in the NCAA Championship after having played two games in the national tournament as freshmen while the Cardinals have played in the Empire 8 Championship game three times over the last four seasons. With veteran leadership, Fisher is poised under pressure and that can pay huge dividends down the stretch.
BACKCOURT BLUES: There aren't many teams at the Division III level that have the type of defensive guard play that Fisher can throw at you. The Cardinals are downright nasty on the perimeter and can wreak havoc on an opposing team's ball handlers. Entering Friday's matchup with York, the Cardinals lead the Empire 8 and rank 25th on the national level with 9.4 steals per game. Through 27 games this year, Fisher has racked up double digit steals in a game 12 times including a season-high 15 swipes against Houghton on January 11th. Sophomore Sean Williams leads the team at nearly two steals per game while Matt Asenjo is averaging 1.8 steals per game. Additionally, James Leone, Sammy Robinson and Dennis Hare are all producing nearly one steal on average. Look for Fisher to apply pressure up front early and often against the Spartans.
IF THIS WAS A TURTLE RACE: We'd have the Hare. Perhaps the biggest X factor for Fisher this season has been the resurgence of senior forward Dennis Hare who will enter NCAAs having scored at least 22 points in each of his last three games. The Red Hook native has a knack for coming up big when the lights are brightest. Last weekend in the conference tournament, Hare finished with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting in a win over Utica in the semifinals before posting a game-high 22 points in the title game against Nazareth. A dynamic player who can play make plays off the dribble or in the post, Hare is averaging a career-best 13.8 points per game and leads the conference in field goal percentage at .582.
SAMMY ROBINSON: No clever lines needed here - Sammy's career speaks for itself. A three-time All-Conference honoree by the Empire 8, Robinson is one of the most electric scorers that Fisher has ever had as he enters the weekend having totaled 1,457 career points in 102 games – good for sixth-most in program history. This season was no exception as the Cedarhurst native was named the Empire 8 Player of the Year after leading the conference in scoring at 17.4 points per game. Robinson is capable of taking over a game if he gets hot from distance as he leads the team and ranks fifth in the Empire 8 with 50 3-point field goals. Over 27 games this year, Robinson has surpassed 20 points or more in a game nine times including a season-high 30 points against Utica during the regular season. Fisher will need more of that production if it wants to make a deep run in the NCAA Championship.
SCOUTING YORK: The Spartans enter the weekend among the nation's elite teams as they rank 25th in the latest D3hoops.com national poll. York earned its way into the National Tournament after having defeated Christopher Newport to win the Capital Athletic Conference Championship to claim its fourth conference title in program history.
York, which sits at 22-5 on the year, is riding a 12-game winning streak and has earned a spot in the NCAA Championship in each of the last three seasons. The Spartans are a formidable team on the offensive end of the floor as they ranked second in their conference in scoring at nearly 81 points per game led by a 1-2 punch including Capital Athletic Conference Player of the Year Jared Wagner who is averaging 18.6 points, 7.0 assists and 6.1 rebounds on the season. David Giuliani is another prolific scorer who is averaging nearly 15 points on average to go along with 8.3 rebounds while Joe Polczynski and Darin Gordon are each averaging a shade under 10 points per game.
Defensively, York is stout as the Spartans surrender just over 70 points per game to their opposition. The Spartans have had success limiting quality shots this season, but Fisher is built around moving the ball and will enter play having made nearly 48 percent of its field goal attempts this season.