The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team defeated the DeSales University Bulldogs 74-64 in its first game of the Hoopsville Classic tournament hosted by Stevenson University on Friday.

Keegan Ryan led the offense with 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Tyler English and Alex Sausville each tallied 14 points.  Zach Ottaway came off the bench and scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. 

The Cardinals and the Bulldogs battled back and forth in the first half, but Fisher started to pull away in with nine minutes remaining when Ottaway netted three 3-pointers within four minutes, along with a layup from Chaz Lott and a free throw from Ryan, pushing Fisher's lead to 29-23 with 5:30 remaining before halftime.

Fisher would score three more times before the end of the period, bringing the score to 35-31 at the break.

The Cardinals opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers - first from Ottoway and then from Sausville -  and after scoring twice more had a 12-point lead over the Bulldogs with a little over 15 minutes left in the half. Sausville hit another three at the 16 minute mark as Fisher's lead advanced to 50-36.

DeSales could not bounce back in the remaining minutes as the Cardinal lead was solidified by four late points from free throw opportunities, resulting in a 74-64 victory for Fisher.

The Cardinals return to the second day of the Hoopsville Classic tomorrow at 4 p.m. when they take on Dickinson College.