The St. John Fisher College men’s basketball team improved to 14-8 overall, 10-3 in the Empire 8 with an 83-66 win over visiting Elmira on Friday night. 

 

Senior forward Justin Beigel (Colerain/Cincinnati, OH) became just the 17^th player in the history of the program to score 1,000 career points with a lay-in at the 6:19 mark, and finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and four assists.

 

Fisher, who jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the opening 2:54, pushed its lead to 18 points on a 3-pointer from freshman Ozell Franklin (Rush-Henrietta/Henrietta) with 7:21 to play in the opening half, and enjoyed an 11-point advantage at the intermission (45-34).

 

The Cardinals opened the half with a 16-7 run to gain a 20-point cushion at 16:47 on a free throw from Beigel, and maintained a sizeable lead for the remainder of the game.

 

Sophomore sharpshooter Chris Baltz (Vestal/Vestal) scored a game-high 23 points on 6-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, while Mark Bearden (Aquinas/Rochester) added 15 points.  Isaiah Smalt (Campbell-Savona/Savona) (10 points, six boards) and Franklin (12 points, four boards) also contributed to the win.

 

Fisher will return to action at 4 p.m. tomorrow to take on Ithaca College on Senior Day for the Cardinals.