Men's Basketball | 2/24/2023 11:30:48 PM
No. 2 seed Nazareth College and No. 4 St. John Fisher advanced to the 2022-23 Empire 8 Men's Basketball Tournament Championship game after earning semifinal victories at Miga Court at the Clark Athletic Center from Utica University on Friday, February 24. St. John Fisher defeated No. 1 seed Utica, 70-65, while the Golden Flyers outlasted No. 3 seed Alfred University, 73-66. The 2023 Empire 8 Champion will earn an automatic berth into the upcoming NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Nazareth, the defending Empire 8 Champion, is look to repeat and earn its fifth title overall. St. John Fisher is aiming to win its 10th Empire 8 Championship and first since 2019-20. The Cardinals are 9-6 all-time in Empire 8 Championship title games, while Nazareth is 4-4.
The Golden Flyers and Cardinals split the regular season series after winning on their respective home courts. St. John Fisher rallied for a 70-67 win at home on Jan. 24, while Nazareth responded with a 94-88 victory on Feb. 8.
No. 4 ST. JOHN FISHER 70, NO. 1 UTICA 65
St. John Fisher rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to defeat top-seed Utica, 70-65 Friday evening. The Cardinals improved to 20-7, while Utica falls to 22-4.
Down 50-40 with 12:49 left, the Cardinals chipped away at the Utica lead. With the game tied at 63-63 Ryan Gentile drained a 3-pointer late in the shot clock with 1:12 left that gave the Cardinals the lead for good.
Jack Foley led the way in points for the Cardinals, finishing with 18. He recorded five rebounds and two assists. Daniel Cook, the 2023 Empire 8 Player of the Year, led the team in rebounds with 10, he added 12 points, four assists, three blocks and two steals. Gentile ended the night with 13 points, three rebounds and one assist. Cole Thompson and Eric Kegler both tallied 10 points and five rebounds.
Darius Hopkins led Utica with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Avery Coston scored 14 points.
NO. 2 NAZARETH 73, NO. 3 ALFRED 65
Freshman
Jaylen Savage, the 2023 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, led five players into double-digit scoring with 15 points Friday as the Nazareth Men's Basketball team scored a 73-66 win over Alfred in the Empire 8 Tournament semifinals to advance to the championship game.
No. 2 seed Nazareth (21-5) will face No. 4 St. John Fisher at 3 p.m. Saturday in the title game as the Cardinals upset top-seed Utica 70-65 in the earlier semifinal game.
Savage scored 15 points while sophomores Luke Insley (14 points) and Jack Broderick (13 points) joined graduate student Jonathan Park (12 points and 12 rebounds) and senior Logan Blankenberg (10 points) in double-digit scoring for Nazareth.
The Golden Flyers held a slim 29-27 lead at halftime but scored 44 points including 13 from the free throw line (13-for-19) in the second half to open up a lead.
A 3-pointer by Savage early in the second half gave Nazareth a six-point lead at 41-35 but the Saxons (20-7) kept the game close with two straight baskets.
Broderick made three consecutive Nazareth baskets to open up a nine-point advantage. After trading baskets over the next several minutes a jumper by Insley gave the Golden Flyers their biggest lead at 61-51 with 3:48 to play.
Alfred cut the lead to six in the closing minutes but free throws by Insley, Park and Blankenberg sealed the victory.
Mike Schmidt led Alfred with 18 points, while Darren Miller added 17. Brewster Marshall recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
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 defeated No. 1 Utica, 70-65 – BOX SCORE
No. 2 Nazareth defeated No. 3 Alfred, 73-66 – BOX SCORE
Saturday, February 25 - Championship Final (at Utica)
No. 2 Nazareth vs. No. 4 St. John Fisher - 3 p.m. – VIDEO/LIVE STATS
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