Men's Basketball | 2/26/2020 2:52:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The second-seeded St. John Fisher College men's basketball team will begin its quest for its ninth Empire 8 title at 7:30 p.m. on Friday as the Cardinals take on third-seeded Utica College in the semifinal round of the 2019-20 Empire 8 Championship inside Kidera Gymnasium.  The top-seeded Nazareth College Golden Flyers will duke it with fourth-seeded Sage at 5:30 in the night's other semifinal bout.  The winner of each game will then square off at 4 p.m. on Saturday with the winner earning the Empire 8's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship next week.

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SHARING IS CARING: Well…maybe not in this case.  After defeating Nazareth last weekend in the team's regular season finale, Fisher clinched a share of the Empire 8 Regular Season Championship with the Golden Flyers as both finished with an identical 12-2 mark in conference play.  Nazareth, however, would earn the right to host the four-team postseason tournament by virtue of its two wins against Sage.  Friday will mark the first time the Cardinals have played as the second seed since the tournament's inception in 2004, while the Golden Flyers last hosted the Empire 8 Championship in 2018 where they defeated Utica to earn the conference crown.

CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE: Experience counts and this year's squad has plenty of experience playing in the postseason.  Flashback to last season and the Cardinals defeated Nazareth in the semifinal round of the Empire 8 Championship to reach the conference title game.  Prior to that, Fisher won the Empire 8 title in 2017 and would parlay that into a first-round victory over St. Lawrence in the NCAA Championship.  In all, the Cardinals have won eight Empire 8 Championships in their history – nearly three times more than this year's field…combined.  

MEASURING UP: The Cardinals are a formidable opponent on both ends of the floor.  Statistically speaking, they're among the top teams in the conference in nearly every category.  Entering the weekend, Fisher's offense leads the Empire 8 in field goal percentage (.482) and assists per game (17.0) while its 81.9 points per game and its .717 free throw percentage rank second among all conference programs.  On the defensive end of the floor, head coach Mike Grosodonia II's squad still stacks up as the Cardinals' rank second in the conference in rebounding defense (33.9) and turnover margin (3.3) while their 9.6 steals on average lead the E8.

MANY HANDS MAKE FOR LIGHT WORK: Or so the saying goes.  One thing the Cardinals bring to the table is diversity.  With six players averaging over 8.0 points per game, it's hard to game plan if you're the opposing team.  The Cardinals are led by Sammy Robinson who paces the Empire 8 in scoring at 17.3 points per game.  Senior Dennis Hare has had a resurgent year as the Red Hook native ranks second on the team and is among the conference leaders at 13.1 points on average while James Leone is stuffing the stat sheet at 11.1 points and 6.3 boards per game this year.  Junior swingman Matt Asenjo is pouring in 10.6 points while both Sean Williams and Brendan Trapper are averaging over eight points apiece.      
SCOUTING NAZARETH: The Golden Flyers come into this year's tournament as the top overall seed after playing to a 12-2 mark in Empire 8 play this season. Along with earning the top seed, they will be hosting this year's tournament for the second time in the last three seasons and they come in red hot after winning 11 out of their last 12 games. Nazareth ranks second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.394) and in 3-point field goals made per game (8.4).

Look for Jonathan Park to control the boards as he leads the Empire 8 in rebounding (9.8).  He also leads the conference in field goal percentage (.601). The player that will be looking for Park on the block is Zach Stenglein who leads the conference in assists (4.6) and ranks third overall in scoring after averaging 18.2 points per game during the regular season.

SCOUTING UTICA: Utica College secured the No.3 seed with an 18-7 overall record and a 9-5 mark in conference play. The Pioneers will enter the tournament with the top-ranked offense in Empire 8 after averaging 82.2 points per game. Utica will look to continue its 3-point shooting as it ranks atop of the conference in 3-points field goal percentage (.394). Head Coach Sean Coffey likes his team getting to the charity stripe as they have the highest free throw percentage (.731) of any team in the conference.

The Pioneers come into this tournament with three players averaging double figures in scoring, which include Darius Hopkins (14.3), Thomas Morreale (12.7) and Kobe Lufkin (10.9). Look for big man Kimedrick Murphy to be a force in the paint as he averages nine rebounds a game, and does work on the defensive end of the floor with nearly two blocks a game.

SCOUTING SAGE: The Gators finished their regular season winning 5 out their 6 last games to earn a 15-10 overall record and an 8-6 record in the conference. An athletic and quick roster, Sage will look to get the ball inside as its bread and butter has come off its ability to drive the basketball.  In fact, don't expect the Gators to hoist up many shots from distance as they rank last in the Empire 8 in 3-point field goals made with 4.5.  There's a lot to be said about second chances and no team in the conference has afforded itself more opportunities than Sage as the Gators lead the Empire 8 in offensive rebounds per game (14.1).

Keep your eyes on sophomore guard Jalon Borders who leads the team in scoring by averaging 15.6 points per game. He will get help from Charles Davis who comes in averaging 8.9 points per game as well as grabbing nearly five rebounds per game.