In the longest game in the history of men's basketball at St. John Fisher College, the Cardinals came out victorious, defeating host Ithaca College 111-99 in four overtimes on Friday night.

 

Fisher opened up the fourth and final overtime period with an 11-1 run to pull away. The Cardinals, who scored 21 total points in the first three overtimes, erupted for 20 in the final period to give the team the most points scored in a game in over nine years.

 

With the win, Fisher (17-5 overall, 8-3 Empire 8 Conference) is now 15-1 in its last 16 overtime games.  

 

The Cardinals, who entered the game shooting 62.8% from the foul line for the season, shot 34-of-39 (87.2%) from the charity stripe for the game, including 18-for-20 (90%) over the extra 20 minutes.

 

Fisher never trailed in regulation. Justin Beigel's (Colerain/Cincinnati, OH) two free throws with nine seconds left in the second half gave the Cardinals a 70-68 lead, but Ithaca forced overtime with four seconds remaining.    Fisher had last-second shots at the end of the first three overtime periods, but failed to connect.   Dan Mueller's (Waterloo/Waterloo) lay-up with 13 seconds left in the third overtime tied the game at 91-91. 

 

All five starters finished in double-figures, with each logging over 43 minutes of action.  Mueller finished with 25 points and five assists, while fellow senior Dan McSweeney (Marcellus/Marcellus) tallied 23 points and 13 boards. 

 

Freshman Chris Baltz (Vestal/Vestal) scored 18 points and added seven rebounds, while classmate Matt Newman (Campbell-Savona/Campbell) scored a career-high 17 points and snagged seven boards.  Beigel finished with 13 points, while Isaiah Smalt (Campbell-Savona/Savona) finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds.

 

Fisher returns to action at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Elmira College.