Box Score

The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team was knocked from Wendy's College Classic title contention on Friday night, when the Cardinals fell to the nationally-ranked University of Rochester 63-50.  The loss was the first of the season for the Cardinals who fall to 3-1 on the year.

The game was hosted by the No. 17 Yellowjackets, who will also host Fisher's next game against Nazareth College at 3 p.m. on Saturday.  The meeting of Empire 8 rivals will determine third place for the tournament, which is now in its 47th year.

Despite opening the game shooting one-for-eight from the floor, the Cardinals were able to keep it within just three points for the nearly the first five minutes, thanks to two blocks a piece from both Jason Norsen and Chaz Lott.  However, the Yellowjackets quickly got hot from the floor, shooting 9-for-13 from outside the arc to take a 20-point lead into the locker room.

Rochester's John DiBartolomeo was a big part of the Yellowjackets' lead, as he shot 5-of-6 with all 15 of his first half points coming from three-point range. 

The Cardinals made a run in the second half, trimming the Rochester lead to single-digits after Thad Wier converted three free throws to make it a nine-point game at 43-34.  Wier's free throws completed a 14-3 run over a 7:24 span to open the second half, but the Cardinals couldn't keep it going, as Rochester responded and got up by as many as 19 points in the remaining minutes of the game.

Wier led the Cardinals with 17 points on the night, while Norsen finished with 12.  The forward also had a game-high four blocks on the evening. Point guard Lott dished out seven assists and scored seven points. 

Field goal percentage was nearly even in the game, with Fisher holding a slight advantage at 36.4% to Rochester's 36.2%, but the Yellowjackets shot 54.5% from beyond the arc compared to Fisher's 20.0%.

The Cardinals also won the steal category, 12-7.