With the loss, Fisher falls 15-8 overall and 7-7 in the Empire 8 Conference, while the Saxons improve to 8-15, 3-11. With two games left in the Empire 8 schedule, the Cardinals are currently one game behind Nazareth Colllege, who defeated RIT tonight, in the conference standings for the fourth and final spot in the Empire 8 Conference Championship.
Fisher trailed by as many as six in the first half at 18-12 with 8:33 left, but the Cardinals went on 10-0 run over the next six minutes to take a 22-18 lead on a coast-to-coast lay up from
Matt Newman. The Saxons, who shot just 24.1% (7-for-29) from the floor in the first half, managed to knot the score at 24 going into the locker room.
Fisher went
up by eight at 36-28 after going on a 12-4 run to start the second half, but the Saxons battled back and tied the game at 38 with 10:02 left in the game. Fisher scored the game's next six points - a 3-pointer from Ozell Franklin and a traditional 3-point-play from Connor Henderson– to regain the advantage, but the Saxons still refused to go away.
Alfred hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to take the lead – one from Gary Kwiecien (Perry) and two from Bobby Barry (Duanesburg). With the game at 54 with four minutes left, Barry's second consecutive trey gave Alfred the lead for good at 57-54 with 3:42 left, starting a pivotal 8-0 run over the next 1:23 to put the Saxons in control.
Barry led the Saxons with 22 points, while Carl Embury (Perry) added 18 points. Both players each made four 3-pointers. Jared Patt (Nelson, PA) finished with 15 points. Alfred scored 47 points in the second half and shot 14-for-26 (53.8%) from the floor, including 7-for-14 from 3-point range, over the final 20 minutes.
For Fisher, five players finished in double figures.
Michael Wopperer finished with 14 points, while Franklin added 12. Henderson and Newman each scored 11, while Will Cornett added 10.
Fisher will return to action at 8 p.m. on Friday and will host Utica College in a pivotal Empire 8 matchup. Utica is 9-5 in the Empire 8 standings and leads Fisher by two games. The Cardinals, however, have already defeated Utica already this year (48-46 on January 8). A Fisher-win would give the Cardinals a sweep and the decisive advantage if the two schools finished tied in the conference standings at the end of the regular season.
