PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Needing a win to stay alive in the Empire 8 postseason race, the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team responded with a season-high 100 points as the Cardinals cruised past visiting Elmira College, 100-63, on Tuesday evening inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  With the win, Fisher improved to 14-10 overall and 9-6 in the Empire 8 standings while Elmira finished the day at 3-20 overall and 1-13 against conference competition. 

Senior Tyler English carried the team with 19 points and nine rebounds as the Lockport native was 7-for-13 from the floor in 21 minutes of play.  Sammy Robinson contributed 13 points in all while Matt Asenjo added a career-best 10 points to go along with three boards.  Jake Haight had eight points and five rebounds at the forward position while Alex Sausville, Dylan Harrington and James Leone each chipped in seven points. 

Neither team was able to gain a clear advantage over the first nine minutes of play as the Cardinals and Soaring Eagles played to a 20-20 tie with 10:59 left to play in the first half.  After a free throw from Elmira staked the visitors to a one-point edge, Leone brought the crowd to its feet after coming up with a steal and taking it coast to coast for the two-handed dunk.  The Cardinals energy seemed to pick after the play as Fisher reeled off seven of the game's next 10 points capped by a 3-pointer in the corner from Asenjo to hold a 29-24 advantage.

As the half continued, Asenjo and English connected on back-to-back shots from downtown to extend Fisher's cushion to seven points, 37-30.  Following a timeout, the Cardinals continued to apply full court pressure and used a 7-0 run to take an 11-point lead, 46-35, into the halftime break. 

Coming out of intermission Fisher put the game out of reach after stringing together a 25-3 run that ate up over eight minutes of clock to bring it to 73-42.  From there, the lead would balloon to as many as 41 points with the Cardinals pouring in 13 unanswered points highlighted by back-to-back 3-pointers from Joseph Lupetin to hold a commanding 96-55 edge.

As a team, the Cardinals were on fire from the field as they knocked down 34-of-57 (.596) attempts overall.  Fisher found its range from behind the 3-point arc as well with 12 triples.  Head coach Michael Grosodonia II's squad made the most of its trips to the charity stripe and shot 20-of-23 from the line.

Fisher will look to punch its ticket to the upcoming Empire 8 Championship at 2 p.m. on Saturday when they close out the regular season at The Sage Colleges in Troy, N.Y.  The Cardinals will need help, however, as Utica is also contending for the fourth and final spot.