PITTSFORD, N.Y. – For the second time this season, the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team defeated Utica College as the Cardinals upended the Pioneers, 84-53, on Saturday inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  Fisher, which has now posted a win in three straight games, moved to 11-8 overall and 6-4 in the Empire 8 while Utica fell to 10-8, 5-4, respectively. 

After coming up with a stop on the defensive end of the floor on the opening possession, Fisher jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead with Alex Sausville notching five points in the first three minutes of play.  The Pioneers found their footing as the half continued and strung together seven of the game's next nine points to pull to within two, 13-11.  From there, however, the tide turned as the Cardinals knocked down four of their next six shot attempts and forced four Pioneer turnovers en route to a 12-1 run and a 13-point cushion, 25-12.

Utica halted Fisher's momentum momentarily with a pair of free throws, but the home team continued to push the pace and closed out the first half with a 14-4 burst including six points from Dennis Hare to hold a 21-point advantage at the break.

Fisher's torrid pace carried into the second half as the Cardinals posted 11 unanswered points to build a 60-24 lead with nine minutes gone by in the period.  The Pioneers struggled to come up with timely stops on the defensive end of the floor with Fisher's lead eventually growing to as many as 41 points late in the half on a layup from Mark Scanlon.   

Utica found a groove late and used a 10-0 run to chip away at the deficit but the hole was too deep to climb out of as Fisher cruised to its sixth win in Empire 8 play.

While Fisher flourished on the offensive end of the floor, its defense was equally impressive as the Cardinals held Utica to just 17 made field goals in the game including six in the first half.  The Pioneers drained only two shots from distance and committed 20 turnovers.

Sammy Robinson led the way for Fisher with a game-high 17 points and six rebounds while Hare added a career-best 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting.  Ryan Henderson chipped in with 11 points and Sausville contributed nine points in the win.  Overall, Fisher's bench totaled 51 points and the Cardinals scored 20 points off turnovers. 

St. John Fisher will return to play at 6 p.m. on Friday when it welcomes Stevens Institute of Technology to Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium.