PITTSFORD, N.Y. – 12 different players scored as the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team picked up a win in Empire 8 action on Friday night after cruising past visiting Houghton College, 92-70, inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gym on Bobby Wanzer Court. With the win, Fisher improved to 6-3 overall and moved to 1-0 in the Empire 8 while Houghton slipped to 1-9 overall and 0-1 in the conference standings.
James Leone led the team with 20 points including a career-high six 3-pointers. The junior hauled down eight rebounds and posted a career-best six assists in the win.
Sammy Robinson finished with his first double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds while
Ryan Henderson added 10 points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes.
Dylan Harrington and
Louden Porter chipped in with eight points apiece while
Brendan Trapper and
Matt Asenjo had seven points each on the night.
As a team, Fisher was 32-of-69 (.464) from the field and buried a season-high 13 shots from downtown. The Cardinals out-rebounded their guests, 44-26, and forced 21 turnovers in all.
It was all Fisher from the get-go as head coach Mike Grosodonia's squad drained four consecutive 3-pointers to start the game. The lead remained firmly entrenched in Fisher's hands and would grow to 12 heading into the halftime break as the Cardinals closed out the opening period with an 11-4 run that included six free throws.
Coming out of intermission, Houghton would pull to within five points with three 3-pointers to make it 47-42, but was unable to cool the Cardinals' hot hand as Fisher poured it on from long range with four more 3-pointers over the next 3:25 to take a 15-point lead with 11:08 left to play.
As the half wore on, Fisher continued to work the ball around the perimeter as Houghton struggled to close the gap. Harrington brought the crowd to its feet with an alley-oop feed to Henderson who flushed it home before Robinson rocked the rim twice as part of a 12-3 run that made it a 19-point affair.
Despite being down by double figures, Houghton continued to battle with a triple of its own, but the damage had been done as the Cardinals won by 22 points.
Fisher will go for its second consecutive win on Saturday at 4 p.m. when it welcomes Hartwick College to campus in an Empire 8 clash.
