PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team exploded for 106 points on Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals outlasted visiting Alfred University, 106-101, in an Empire 8 battle inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.  The Cardinals' 106-point effort marked its highest scoring output since matching that feat against Pitt-Bradford in 2012.  With the win, Fisher improved to 13-7 on the year and 8-1 in the conference standings while the Saxons slipped to 9-11 overall and 3-6 against Empire 8 opponents.

It was all Fisher from the get-go as the Cardinals sank six of their first eight attempts from the field including two from behind the arc to open up a 15-4 edge through the game's first four minutes of play.

The lead would grow to as many as 16 points in the opening half after the Cardinals rattled off seven unanswered points capped off by a bucket in the paint from senior Dennis Hare to make it 27-11.  As the half continued to wind down, Alfred would climb back into contention after stringing together 10 of the game's next 12 points to pull to within seven with 8:27 left to go before the break.

With momentum beginning to swing in the other direction, Fisher buckled down on both ends of the floor and responded with a run of its own as head coach Mike Grosodnoia II's squad produced a 12-3 run fueled by seven points from junior Mark Valeriani to push the advantage back to double-figures, 43-27.

Down by 16 with five minutes still showing on the clock, Alfred began to play with a sense of urgency as the Saxons found nylon of five of their final six shots including a buzzer-beater to head into the halftime break facing a 50-41 deficit.

As the second half got underway, Fisher would extend its cushion to 17 points midway through the period after putting together a 12-1 run that featured five points apiece from James Leone and Brendan Trapper to make it 77-60.

Fisher's pace would slow over the next four minutes with the Saxons taking advantage to the tune of an 11-2 burst to cut the deficit down to eight points with 6:32 left to play.

Clinging to an eight-point edge, Fisher found its footing and pushed the advantage back to 15 with seven quick points, but the Saxons continued to fight and would make things interesting over the final minute.  Leading by 11 with 1:08 to go, the Cardinals saw their lead shrink to six after missing key free throws down the stretch, but the deficit was too great for Alfred to overcome as Fisher held on for its eighth win in conference play.

Sammy Robinson led the team with 25 points to go along with three rebounds while Leone stuffed the stat sheet and produced 23 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a steal.  Valeriani finished with a career-high 15 points and four boards while Hare added 14 points in the win.  Asenjo netted 10 points over 28 minutes and Trapper came off the bench to add 10 points and three rebounds.

The Cardinals will be back in action at 5:30 p.m. on Friday when they travel to Oneonta to take on the Hartwick College Hawks in an Empire 8 pairing.