ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked St. John Fisher College men's basketball team couldn't hold on to a lead late in the second half as the No. 25 Cardinals were upended by the University of Rochester, 78-75, to begin the fourth annual Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.  With the defeat, Fisher slipped to 2-2 on the year while the Yellowjackets, who are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, improved to 4-0 with the win.

Sophomore Sean Williams put together a career outing as the guard scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with six assists, five rebounds and three assists.  James Leone chipped in with 14 points, six rebounds and three steals while Sammy Robinson finished with 13 points and a pair of blocked shots.  Dennis Hare contributed eight points and five boards while Matt Asenjo added eight points, three rebounds and two steals of his own.

It was all Rochester to begin the game as the Yellowjackets would build a double-digit lead midway through the period.  As the half continued, the home team's advantage would grow to as many as 13 points before the Cardinals found their groove and ripped off a 16-2 run fueled by eight points from Williams to turn a double-digit deficit into a one-point lead, 35-34.

From there, the lead would change hands four more times over the next three minutes until the Cardinals took a two-point edge into the break, 43-41.

As the second half got underway, the Cardinals' momentum slowed while Rochester took advantage to the tune of a 10-2 burst to open up a 59-52 cushion with 11 minutes still showing on the clock.

From there, Rochester's margin would swell to eight points, but the Cardinals found their footing and clawed their way back into contention as a 3-pointer in the corner by Mark Valeriani cut the gap to one possession.

As the half ticked down, Fisher would tie the game at 66-66 when Valeriani dumped it off to Robinson for a 3-pointer that sparked a 10-1 run to stake the visitors to a 73-67 lead with under five minutes to go in the game. 

Holding a six-point advantage with time wearing thin, the Cardinals went cold from the floor as Rochester scored the game's next 10 points to pull ahead by a bucket.

Trailing by three points with 14 seconds still remaining in regulation, the Cardinals had time for one final play, however, the 3-point attempt missed its mark as the Yellowjackets remained unbeaten on the year.

The Cardinals will continue play in the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout at 6 p.m. on Saturday when they take on Rochester Institute of Technology at the University of Rochester.