BUFFALO, N.Y. – Sophomore big-man Brendan Trapper matched his career-high while three others finished in double figures in the scoring column as the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team came out on top in an 89-83 non-conference bout against the Buffalo State Bengals inside the Sports Arena.  With the win, Fisher, which is receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, climbed to 4-2 while the Bengals slipped to 2-2 following the defeat.

Trapper netted 21 points in the win on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with six rebounds off the bench.  Dennis Hare finished with 19 points in 33 minutes and added seven rebounds and two assists overall.  Matt Asenjo chipped in with 18 points and four assists while James Leone stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, six rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals.

Both teams were evenly matched over the first four minutes of action as the game remained deadlocked at 11-11.  As the period wore on, however, Buffalo State found a groove and reeled off seven quick points to force Fisher to use a timeout to regroup.  Trailing 18-11, the Cardinals responded with a run of their own as the visitors countered with eight unanswered points to hold a slim lead, 19-18.

Fisher's momentum would slow as time continued to tick down as the Bengals capitalized and eventually built a nine-point lead with just over five minutes to go before intermission.  Trailing 34-25, Fisher found its footing to the tune of a 10-0 run that turned a deficit into a lead with under two minutes still showing on the clock. 

The lead would change hands two more times over the final 90 seconds until a pair of free throws from Hare staked the Cardinals to a one possession advantage at the break.

As the second half got underway, both teams jockeyed for the lead as the opening eight minutes of play featured four ties and three lead changes.  With the score at 52-51 in Buffalo State's favor, the Cardinals asserted themselves on the offensive end of the floor and ripped off a 12-2 burst highlighted by five points from Trapper to make it 63-54.

With under four minutes to play, the Bengals would weather the storm and climb back to within one point, but that was as close as they would get as the Cardinals scored eight quick points including five in a row from Leone to close out the comeback bid.

The Cardinals will continue their play on the road as they head to Hobart College on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip in Geneva.