Men's Basketball | 2/19/2024 3:15:00 PM

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher University men's basketball team, holding the number three seed in the conference, hosts Houghton University on Tuesday in the first round of the Empire 8 Tournament. Tipoff is 6:00 p.m.
 
A win would send the Cardinals into a semifinal matchup with arch-rival Nazareth down the street on Thursday. 
 
Last Time Out
The Cardinals finished the regular season with a 17-8 record (13-3 conference record) by beating the Nazareth Golden Flyers on Saturday in a 77-76 thriller, holding them off thanks to some late free-throws and defensive stops. Fifth-year forward Daniel Cook led the team with 19 points, while senior forward Brad Fowler had 18 points to go with eight rebounds and two blocks. 
 
Know Your Foe
Fisher is 54-1 all-time against the Houghton Highlanders, including two victories this season: a 98-87 win at Houghton earlier this month and a 84-73 victory at home in January. The Cardinals haven't lost to the Highlanders since the 1994-1995 season. 
 
The sixth-seeded Highlanders enter the semis with a 7-18 overall record and a 5-11 mark in conference play. Despite their sub-.500 record, though, they should not be slept on, as they played the Cardinals close for much of this season's games, even holding a lead with just under six minutes left in the teams' February matchup before a late Fisher run put the game away. 
 
Houghton is led offensively by Jajuan Preaster, who is third in the conference in points-per-game, with 19.1. Teammate Preston Thomas is eighth in the same category, with 15.7. Thomas led the conference in three-pointers per game, averaging 2.8 from beyond the arc per game. 
 
Tournament History
This is the sixth straight season that the Cardinals have reached the Empire 8 tournament, and the 17th overall. 
 
Fisher entered last season's conference tournament as a four-seed. After beating Hartwick at home to open the tournament, the Cards then went on the road and upset Utica and Nazareth for the school's 10th Empire 8 title. 
 
Fowler Balls
Fowler won the Empire 8 Men's Basketball Player of the Week for his performance against Nazareth on Saturday, capping an excellent regular season for the senior. Despite not starting a single game this campaign, the Orchard Park native leads the team in field goal percentage (.685, 84-for-124) and is second in blocks (18). He's also in the team's top five in points, points-per-game, and rebounds.  
 
Player to Watch
Every game that Cook plays in the coming weeks could be his last in college sports, but regardless of when his career ends it will go down as one of the best in program history. The three-time Empire 8 Player of the Year has a chance at earning his fourth such award after finishing the regular season tops in the conference in scoring (20.6 points per game) and blocks (1.5 per game). Cook is also second in rebounding (9.4 per game), steals (2.0 per game) and in field goal percentage among qualifying conference players (.546). He stands fifth in assists (3.1 per game). 
 
Up Next
Should Fisher win on Tuesday, they'll head to Nazareth for the conference semis on Thursday. There is a chance that the Cardinals could host the Empire 8 finals on Saturday should they win Tuesday and Thursday and Utica is upset in their semifinal game, but otherwise this will be Fisher's final home game of the 2023-24 season. 
 
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