Box Score
The St. John Fisher men's basketball team built a large lead in the first half and held on for its first win of the season, 85-82, against host Medaille College. The Cardinals had four players in double-digits including the freshman duo of Keegan Ryan and Zach Ottaway who had career-highs in points with 17 and 14 respectively.
The Mavericks took the early lead over the Cardinals, but Ryan's jumper five minutes into the game to make it 10-9 gave the Cardinals the lead for good.
With Fisher leading 29-24 at the five minute mark in the first half, Adam Ambielli drained a 3-point field goal. That field goal helped spark a 16-5 run to close out the stanza, with the Cardinals leading 45-29.
Ryan scored 13 of his team-high 17 points for Fisher in the first half.
Fisher maintained a double-digit lead for the first 12 minutes of the second half but a 7-2 run helped the Mavericks cut the Cardinals lead to just five, 67-62, with 6:14 remaining in the game.
A Chaz Lott layup, coupled a Ottaway 3-pointer gave Fisher a 10 point lead at the 4:47 mark, but Medaille would chip into the lead down the stretch.
The Mavericks cut the lead to just four with :29 seconds left, 81-77, but free throws down the stretch helped give Fisher the victory. Tyler Hart was four-for-four from the foul line in the final 40 seconds to help seal the victory. Hart had 12 points fueled by an 8-for-9 day from the charity stripe. He also added a team-high six assists.
Lott was 7-for-10 from the field for 15 points, while Pete Notaro chipped in eight points.
With the win Fisher improves to 1-1 overall.
The Cardinals next contest will be in the Wendy's College Classic on December 4th with the site and time to be determined.
