The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the JPMorgan Chase Scholarship Tournament for the 11th time in the past 12 years, as the visiting Cardinals rallied to beat host Rochester Institute of Technology 75-68 on Wednesday night.
With the win, Fisher, the No. 2 seed in the eight-team tournament, extended its current winning streak to 10 games, marking just the sixth time in the program’s 44-year history the Cardinals have rattled off 10 or more straight victories.
Fisher will now face No. 3 University of Rochester at 6:15 p.m. on Friday at Roberts Wesleyan College in the semifinals in a rematch of last year’s championship game, won by Fisher, 59-50. The Cardinals also defeated Rochester 69-67 in overtime earlier this season. Friday's game can be heard at
www.wysl1040.com
Fisher, who defeated R.I.T. just five days ago, trailed the host Tigers by nine early in the second half, but the Cardinals used a 12-0 run to take the lead for good with 15:24 left. Fisher shot 14-for-23 (60.9%) from the floor in the second half, including 6-of-8 (75%) from 3-point range.
Dan Mueller (Waterloo/Waterloo) led Fisher with a career-high 20 points, including 16 in the second half for the third time in last five games. The senior knocked down four 3-pointers and dished out a team-high five assists.
Classmate
Dan McSweeney (Marcellus/Marcellus) scored all 11 of his points in the second half, including eight during Fisher’s 12-0 run.
Justin Beigel (Colerain/Cincinnati, OH), the reigning Chase Tournament Most Valuable Player, finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Mike McKeever (Indian River/Philadelphia) and
Matt Newman (Campbell-Savona/Campbell) each made two 3-pointers and combined for 14 points.
Isaiah Smalt (Campbell-Savona/Savona) tallied seven rebounds and six points, while
Mark Bearden (Aquinas Institute/Rochester) chipped in with five points and two blocked shots.
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