ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Dennis Hare drained four free throws in the final minute of play including a pair that tied the game at 73-73, but the St. John Fisher College men's basketball was unable to come out on the winning side of a 75-73 defeat at Nazareth College inside Kidera Gymnasium on Tuesday.  With the loss, Fisher, which entered the game riding a six-game winning streak and held on to first place in the Empire 8 standings, dipped to 11-7 on the year and 6-1 in the Empire 8 while the Golden Flyers closed out the day at 14-4, 6-1, respectively.

After digging itself into a 13-point hole to begin the second half, the Cardinals would climb right back into contention after orchestrating a 12-0 run fueled by four points apiece from Matt Asenjo, James Leone and Hare to pull to within one, 49-48, with nearly six minutes having ticked off the clock.

With momentum favoring the visitors, Nazareth was able to halt the bleeding with a 3-pointer as part of a quick 5-0 burst that pushed the advantage back to six.  As the half continued, both teams traded baskets over the next four minutes of play until a basket by Asenjo made it a one possession affair, 59-57.

Trailing by a pair, both teams battled for position in the paint with Nazareth's lead growing to four points following a turnaround jumper.  With time winding down, senior Dylan Harrington came off a screen and drilled a step-back 3-pointer that made it a one-point game, 68-67, but the Golden Flyers answered on the other end of the floor with a timely jumper and a free throw to extend their cushion back to four with under two minutes to go. 

After coming up short on the offensive end of the floor, Fisher turned up the intensity on the defensive front with Hare stepping in front of a pass on the sideline before drawing a foul with 1:16 left to play in the game.  The senior guard stepped to the charity stripe and buried both attempts to make it a two-point game.

Holding a slim margin, Nazareth worked the ball over the timeline and called timeout to draw up a play that resulted in two points and pushed the lead back to four. 

Facing an uphill climb, Fisher followed suit and called a timeout before Hare found himself on the perimeter where he drove by his defender and kissed it off the glass to make it 73-71 with 52 seconds remaining in regulation.

With momentum beginning to side with Fisher, the Golden Flyers worked their offense, but were unable to come up with a bucket as Hare was fouled on the ensuing rebound.  Trailing by a pair and with two free throws upcoming, Hare connected on both ends to knot things up at 73-73 with 26 seconds left to play.

With over 800 fans cheering loudly, Nazareth brought the ball up the court and settled in to its offense with the clock running until the ball worked its way inside for the go-ahead lay-up.  The Cardinals had nine seconds to tie or take the lead, but their final heave missed its mark as Nazareth held on for the win.

Hare led the Cardinals with 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Asenjo finished with 18 points and six rebounds while Harrington added 11 points in 29 minutes.  Brendan Trapper chipped in with 10 points off the bench while Sean Williams had six points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

The Cardinals will look to build a new winning streak at 5:30 p.m. on Friday when they host Houghton College inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gym on Bobby Wanzer Court.