PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Four players finished in double figures on Tuesday as the St. John Fisher College men's basketball team steamrolled Alfred University, 97-73, in the team's Empire 8 debut inside Manning and Napier Varsity Gymnasium on Bobby Wanzer Court. With the win, Fisher improved to 7-3 on the year and 1-0 in league play while the Saxons slipped to 7-3 overall and 0-1 against Empire 8 opponents.
Daniel Cook led all players with 26 points on 11-of-20 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, four steals and six assists.
Brendan Trapper added 23 points, six boards and two helpers while
Joe Morrell provided a spark off the bench with a career-high 11 points including three makes from downtown.
Sean Williams produced 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and a steal over 17 minutes of play while
Ryan Gentile chipped in with nine points and three rebounds in all.
Both teams looked sharp early as neither was able to create much separation with the Cardinals holding a slim edge with under six minutes to go before halftime. Clinging to a 35-32 lead, Fisher caught fire and built a double-digit lead with a 9-2 run capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play from Cook that made it 44-34.
From there, the home team would lead by as many as 11 points until a jumper by the Saxons sent both teams into the locker room with Fisher up by nine, 49-40.
As the second half got underway, Fisher continued to pound the paint and used a 14-2 run over a span of four minutes to grow its advantage to 17 points, 63-46, at the 15-minute mark.
With momentum on its side, Fisher's pace cooled with the Saxons taking advantage to cut the deficit down to eight, but the Cardinals regained their footing with a 21-0 run that included three highlight dunks to make it 95-66.
With under two minutes to play, Alfred was able to knock down a pair of jumpers on the perimeter, but the gap was too large as Fisher cruised to its sixth win by double-digits this season.
The Cardinals will look to build on Tuesday's momentum when they travel to Russell Sage at 7:30 p.m. on Friday to take on the Gators in another Empire 8 tilt.
