Men's Basketball | 2/21/2023 8:23:34 PM
No. 3 seed Alfred University and No. 4 St. John Fisher advanced to the 2022-23 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals after earning decisive first round victories on Tuesday, February 21. Alfred knocked off No. 6 seed Medaille University, 67-42, while St. John Fisher rolled to a 103-54 win over No. 5 seed Hartwick College.
Both teams will head to Utica University for the Empire 8 Semifinals on Friday, Feb. 24. Utica will host St. John Fisher from the Harold T. Clark Athletic Center in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. No. 2 seed and defending Empire 8 Champion Nazareth College will face the Alfred in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2023 Empire 8 Championship on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The league champion receives an automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Championship, which begins March 3-4.
This marks the second year in a row that the same four teams have advanced to the semifinals. Utica and St. John Fisher split the regular season series with each team winning on its home court. Utica defeated St. John Fisher, 75-69 on Jan. 3, while the Cardinals handed the Pioneers their lone loss in E8 play, 65-63 on Feb. 7.
NO. 3 ALFRED 67, NO. 6 MEDAILLE 42
No. 3 seed Alfred used a 38-11 run over an 18-minute during both halves to roll to a 67-42 win over No. 6 Medaille in the opening round from Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.
Mike Schmidt (Olean, NY/Olean) led three other Saxons in double-digit scoring while rounding out a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists while adding two rebounds and two steals.
Casey Curran (Allegany, NY/Allegany-Limestone) also had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds (11 defensive) while adding two assists, two steals and a game-high three blocks.
Brewster Marshall (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads) added 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals and one block and
Darren Miller (Seneca Falls, NY/Mynderse Academy) posted 10 points, eight boards and three steals to close out the top scoring efforts by AU.
Only two other Saxons scored on the night as
Adam Enders (Belfast, NY/Belfast) scored nine points and
Elliot Bowen (Salamanca, NY/Ellicotville) added six.
"Really proud of the defensive effort. Our guys were ready against a tough opponent in Medaille," Head Coach
Erich Kaempffe said. "We're excited for the opportunity to play Friday night in the semi-finals. Naz is always one of the best programs in our region and we have so much respect for them."
The Saxons (20-6, 14-4 Empire 8) gave up an early lead to the Mavericks (9-17, 7-11 Empire 8) as they had a six-point lead in the first four minutes, 8-2. Miller scored twice with Schmidt adding a jumper in the paint as AU tied it, 8-8 with just over 14 minutes to go. It wasn't until a layup from Marshall off a pass from Bowen that AU had its first lead of the night, 12-10 with 11:02 to go in the first half.
The bucket initiated a Saxon scoring spree as they built up to a 12-point lead right before halftime with a 3-pointer from Curran.
The second half was all purple & gold with AU holding its largest lead of the night with an Enders 3-pointer with just under six minutes left in regulation, 62-34.
NO. 4 ST. JOHN FISHER 103, NO. 5 HARTWICK 54
The Cardinals (19-7) made quick work of the Hawks, jumping in front 17-2 within the first seven minutes to evetually lead 51-23 at halftime and earn the win by a final score of 103-54.
Ryan Gentile got the scoring started quickly, knocking down a three in the opening ten seconds of action. The Cardinals took advantage of some overzealous defending that sent them to the free-throw line, making 7-of-8 to go in front 12-2 with 14:41 to play. Hartwick ended the Fisher run at the 12:28 mark, scoring their next layup to make the score 19-4. The lead was extended to 20 for the first time at 9:01, with
Brendan McRoy converting a fast break dunk off a steal. The team did not stop there,
Akinlana Popoola added to the advantage with a three-pointer, and
Daniel Cook converted a pair of free throws to make it a 25-point lead. The Hawks began to make shots to keep even with Fisher down the stretch, but going into half time the Cardinals were ahead 51-23.
The second frame included much of the same success. Gentile opened the half with a layup and
Cole Thompson contributed a three-pointer.
Connor Recore made back-to-back layups and then with 15:48 to play, he made two free throws to bring the score to 68-27 in favor of Fisher. The two teams began to trade baskets, with the Cardinals adding to their lead until it reach the 50 point mark at the 2:12 mark, when a
Brad Fowler layup put the team in front 99-49. The game ended with a 103-54 victory.
Cook, Recore and Gentile, all finished with double-digit scoring. Record tallied a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds to go along with two blocks and a steal. Cook was the leader in scoring with 18 points in 22 minutes of action. He also added six rebounds and four assists. Gentile shot 4-for-7 from three to total 14 points, and was active on defense with three steals.
2022-23 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Tuesday, February 21 – First Round (at Higher Seed)
No. 3 Alfred defeated No. 6 Medaille, 67-42 – BOX SCORE
No. 4 St. John Fisher defeated No. 5 Hartwick, 103-54 – BOX SCORE
Friday, February 24 – Semifinals (at Utica)
No. 4 St. John Fisher at No. 1 Utica – 5:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
No. 3 Alfred s. No. 2 Nazareth - 7:30 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
Saturday, February 25 - Championship Final (at Utica)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 - 3 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
ABOUT THE EMPIRE 8 CONFERENCE
The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
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