PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team fell in the title game of the Woodcliff Hotel and Spa Tournament on Thursday after dropping a non-conference bout to the Oswego State Lakers, 83-70, inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court. With the defeat, Fisher closed out the calendar year at 6-3 while Oswego State, which is receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, improved to 9-1 with the victory.
Brendan Trapper carried over his hot shooting from Wednesday's game to lead Fisher with 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting paired with eight rebounds and three assists.
Ian Duncan produced a career-high 17 points to go along with nine rebounds while
Daniel Cook added his sixth double-double of the year with 14 points and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes.
Ryan Gentile chipped in with nine points including two from downtown while
Sean Williams contributed four points, four steals and a season-high 11 assists.
After falling behind by as many as 20 points in the second half, Fisher began to find a rhythm from behind the arc as a 3-pointer from Duncan ignited a 13-3 burst that cut the gap to 10 points with 12:26 still remaining in the game.
With momentum favoring the home team, Oswego followed suit with a 3-pointer of its own, but the Cardinals continued to grind and pulled to within seven points after scoring three straight baskets in the paint to make it 56-49 with under nine minutes to play.
The tides, however, would shift again as the Lakers regrouped and used an 11-0 run to open up an 18-point advantage with 4:36 still showing on the clock. Facing an uphill climb, Fisher continued to battle down the stretch and scored 16 of the game's next 23 points to make it a nine-point affair, but time would run out on the comeback bid with the Lakers earning the important regional decision.
Overall, the Cardinals were 25-of-62 (.403) from the field and 12-for-18 from the free throw stripe. Fisher moved the ball well and was credited with having 15 assists on 25 field goals.
The Cardinals will enjoy an off weekend before jumping into Empire 8 play at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday when they host Alfred University inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium.
