PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team clinched the Empire 8 regular season title and the right to host the upcoming conference championship after defeating Elmira College, 75-63, on Bobby Wanzer Court in Manning and Napier Varsity Gym.  The win, which was Fisher's sixth straight and 13th in its last 14 games, improved the Cardinals' record to 18-5 overall and 13-1 in the conference standings.  Elmira moved to 3-21 overall and 1-14 against Empire 8 opponents.

The Cardinals opened up a seven-point lead after three consecutive layups from senior Keegan Ryan made it 12-5 in the home's team favor.  Elmira cut it to a one possession game with five straight points, but Fisher responded with a 7-0 run of its own capped by a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Sammy Robinson to take a 19-10 lead.

Both teams swapped baskets on the offensive end of the floor over the next 1:16 before the Soaring Eagles strung together seven quick points to come to within four, 24-20, with just under four minutes to go before the end of the first half.  Elmira continued to hang around as the half wore on before Alex Sausville put Fisher up six, 33-27, heading into halftime.

Fisher scored six of the first nine points in the second half to jump out to a nine-point lead, 39-30, and held a comfortable lead until Elmira cut it to a two-point affair after putting together an 11-4 run, which included three straight 3-pointers to come to within 52-50 with 10:33 still left to go in the game.  Fisher would push its edge back to seven after a 3-pointer from Michael D'Amico and a jumper from Sausville, but Elmira kept pace and cut the deficit back to two points, 57-55.

From there, Fisher scored six quick points and held Elmira to just three field goals over the final four minutes of play while building a 14-point lead en route to the win.    

Ryan led the way for Fisher with a career-high 33 points on 11-for-14 shooting.  The senior forward was perfect from the charity stripe and shot 11-of-11 on the night.  English added nine points and five rebounds in the win while Ryan Henderson finished with eight points in all.  Sausville and Jake Haight each went for six points with Sausville adding a team-high six assists.

As a team, Fisher shot 20-of-23 (.87.0) from the free throw line and knocked down 25-of-55 attempts from the field including five 3-pointers.  The Cardinals committed just nine turnovers in 40 minutes.

Fisher will close out its regular season on the road with a pair of games this weekend.  The Cardinals take on Stevens Institute of Technology at 8 p.m. on Friday and Hartwick at 4 p.m. on Saturday.