ALFRED, N.Y. – Four players finished in double figures on Tuesday as the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team held off a late-game rally by the Alfred University Saxons in an 82-74 decision inside the Terry S. Galanis Family Arena.  With the win, the Cardinals climbed to 11-4 overall and 5-1 in the conference standings while the Saxons fell to 9-5, 2-3, respectively.

Daniel Cook, who was named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List late last week, completed his eighth double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Ian Duncan posted a career-high 17 points paired with four boards in 30 minutes.  Joe Morrell also posted a career-best with 16 points including five free throws in five chances while Sean Williams had 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists in all.

After falling behind by double figures to begin the second half, Fisher began to play with a renewed sense of urgency following a modest 6-0 run that cut the gap to six, 45-39. The momentum would be short-lived, however, as the home team pushed its lead back to 11 and maintained a double-digit cushion through the midway point of the second half.

Trailing 60-50, the Cardinals came to life on both ends of the floor and scored seven unanswered points including an old-fashioned three-point play from Duncan to pull to within three, 60-57, with 8:26 still showing on the clock.

With its grip beginning to slip away, Alfred countered with back-to-back buckets to extend its advantage to eight points, but was unable to match Fisher's pace as the Cardinals rattled off 12 straight points including eight from Morrell as part of a larger 14-3 run that moved the visitors ahead, 71-68.

Fisher's lead grew to as many as seven points with under a minute to play before Alfred poured in five points in a span of 34 seconds to make it a one possession affair.  Trailing by two with 16 seconds left, the Saxons sent the Cardinals to the foul line to preserve time, but head coach Mike Grosodonia II's squad was up to the task as it converted all six of its attempts to seal the win, 82-74.    

The Cardinals will go for their third win a row at 7:30 p.m. on Friday when they return home to host Houghton College inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court.