PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team suffered an 80-78 setback to SUNY Cortland on Sunday afternoon as the Cardinals fell in overtime inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymansium on Bobby Wanzer Court in the championship game of the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Tournament.  With the loss, Fisher will head into the New Year at 5-3 while the Red Dragons improved to 8-2. 

After falling behind by seven points over the first 20 minutes of play, the Cardinals responded to begin the second half as Ryan Henderson got things started with an old-fashioned 3-point play to spark a 7-2 run that made it 43-41 just 1:25 into the second period. 

From there, Cortland countered with a run of its own as the Red Dragons reeled off eight unanswered points to reclaim a double-digit lead, 51-41.  The tides would shift again as the half wore on with the Cardinals cutting the gap to one point courtesy on a 9-0 burst capped off by a put-back dunk from James Leone.

Both teams continued to swap baskets down the stretch until the 11:41 mark of the second half when the Cardinals worked their way to the free throw line and produced an 11-2 run to open up their largest lead since early in the first half, 64-58.  The advantage would be short-lived, however, as the Red Dragons regrouped to the tune of 10 straight points including two from downtown to hold a two-possession cushion, 68-64, with under seven minutes left to go.

After tying the game at 70-70 with a 3-pointer from Mark Valeriani, offense would come at a premium over the final 4:39 as both teams were held to just a pair of free throws apiece as the horn sounded on regulation with the score deadlocked at 72-72.

In overtime, Cortland struck first, but back-to-back dunks from Leone followed by a pair of free throws from Henderson staked Fisher to a 78-74 lead with 1:26 on the clock.  Trailing by four points, Cortland worked its offense and drew a foul as the Red Dragons converted the first before coming up with a timely offensive rebound on the second attempt.  Following a timeout, the visitors were able to tie the game with a corner triple to knot things at 74-74.

With just 38 seconds left in the frame, Fisher found an open man on the block, but was unable to come up with the go-ahead basket as Cortland moved the ball across the timeline. 
With time ticking down, the Cardinals' defense held firm and forced a contested 3-pointer, which missed its mark.  With just nine seconds left, Fisher tried to come up with the big play and launched the ball the length of the court before Cortland picked off the pass and drew a final-second foul to ice the game at the line.

Henderson finished with a team-high 18 points and was perfect from the stripe going 7-for-7 on the day.  Sammy Robinson finished with 17 points and six rebounds while Leone added a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.  Matt Asenjo chipped in with 10 points and five boards while Brendan Trapper contributed eight points off the bench.
 
The Cardinals will continue their eight-game home stand at 7:30 p.m. on Friday when they open up Empire 8 play against Houghton College inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium.