The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team came through with a hard-fought 48-46 victory over host Utica College on Friday night.

 

Swingman Brandon Witte drained a 3-pointer off a pass from Michael Wopperer with 1:40 remaining to give Fisher a two-point lead, and rejected a Utica shot that would have tied the game with just 27 second remaining to seal the win.

 

The Pioneers trimmed the lead to just one on a traditional three-point play, but the Cardinals held off Utica and improved to 8-2 overall, 3-1 in the Empire 8 with a free throw from Witte for the final margin.

 

Despite allowing an 18-4 run over the opening 8:13 of the game, Fisher rallied to close out the first half on an extended 20-6 spurt to even the score at 24-24 at the half.

 

Matt Newman gave Fisher is first lead of the game (34-33) at the 13:46 mark of the final period. A foul-line jumper from Connor Henderson found the bottom of the net to give Fisher a three-point lead, but UC's Justin Maxwell drained a 3-pointer to knot the score again.

 

Witte's free throws at 11:13 that gave Fisher a two-point cushion mid-way through the half were the only points for either team for over four minutes, until Pioneer forward Doug Herring converted a traditional three-point play to give Utica a 39-38 lead with 7:01 to play.

 

The Pioneers hung on to their one-point lead with just 2:36 to play, but Witte's shot from distance gave Fisher a lead that was just enough for the win.

 

Anthony Hall led the Cardinals with 11 points, while Witte and Matt Newman notched 10 apiece. Wopperer hauled in 10 rebounds and finished with seven points.

 

Fisher will return to action on Sunday at Elmira College in another Empire 8 Conference tilt.