GENEVA, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team suffered a 66-59 loss on Tuesday as the Cardinals fell to Hobart College in a non-conference bout inside Bristol Gym.  With the defeat, the Cardinals fell to 4-3 on the year while the Statesmen finished the day at 4-1 overall.

After falling behind the three points following the first half, the Cardinals came out slow to begin the second stanza as Hobart extended its lead to nine points following a 6-0 burst over the first three minutes of the half.

The momentum would shift as the half wore on, however, with Fisher fighting back to tie the game after an 11-2 run over a five minute stretch that was fueled by five points from Mark Valeriani made it 39-39.  From there, the Statesmen would knock down three straight free throws, but the Cardinals countered with three points of their own as Dennis Hare found Louden Porter on the wing for a 3-pointer.

Nearly three minutes would pass before either team was able to generate anything on the offensive end of the floor as the two teams combined to go 1-for-7 from the field in that span before Hobart reeled off eight of the game's next 11 points to open up a five-point cushion, 50-45, with 6:43 remaining in the contest.

Trailing by two possessions, Sammy Robinson would pull Fisher to within two points after connecting from distance, but the Cardinals would go cold from the floor while the Statesmen rattled off seven unanswered points to put head coach Mike Grosodonia II's team in an 8-point hole with under three minutes to go.

With time running out on the comeback bid, the Cardinals would pull to within seven with two minutes still showing on the clock, but that was as close as they'd come as Hobart closed out the final minute with 6-2 run before a final-second triple from James Leone found its mark.   

Valeriani led Fisher with 13 points to go along with three rebounds and a pair of assists while Matt Asenjo chipped in with 12 points including a pair of 3-pointers.  Robinson contributed 11 points and three boards while Leone netted 10 points and pulled down six boards. 

The Cardinals will have 12 days to regroup before they head to Daytona Beach, Fla. for the Mauro Panaggio Tournament where they'll take on The College of Wooster at 12 p.m. on December 15th.