HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Junior guard Giovanni Schilaci scored a career-high 16 points and five other Cardinals finished in double-figures as the St. John Fisher men's basketball team defeated Houghton, 87-80, Tuesday night at the Nielsen Center. 

After five ties and seven lead changes, Fisher (7-6, 3-1 Empire 8) trailed Houghton (3-10, 0-4 E8) by five with under seven minutes remaining. The Cardinals ignited an 18-1 run, as Schillaci hit three triples in less than three minutes, to take a double-digit lead that they would protect the rest of the contest. 

Schillaci shot a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc and the free throw line. Freshman guard Mekhi Gidney posted a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double. Senior guard Max Schneider and junior guard Johnathan McCaffrey finished with 12 points. Sophomore guard Andrew Violante added 11 points, and sophomore guard Jack Janes contributed 10 points. 

How It Happened

Fisher opened on an 8-2 spurt to force a Highlanders timeout at the 16:05 mark. 

Out of the stoppage, Houghton sparked an 8-3 surge to get within a possession, 11-10. The Highlanders took their first lead, 14-13, less than two minutes later. 

Both teams went blow for blow the rest of the half. The Cardinals took a 36-31 edge — their largest since 11-5 — with 1:40 to go, but Houghton cut its deficit to 38-36 heading into the break.  

Gidney led the Cardinals with 7 points at halftime. Fisher made just one more field goal than Houghton through 20 minutes, shooting 44% from the field to the Highlander's 40%. Neither side held a lead over two-possessions in the first half. 

The matchup remained tight through the first 10 minutes of the second half; Houghton held a 55-53 advantage. Fisher built a four-point lead twice in that span, but could not pull away any further. A Highlander's layup later pushed their cushion to 62-57, but a three-pointer from Schneider and a lay-in from McCaffrey tied the game right back up with 6:52 to play. 

The Cardinals retook the lead on a layup from Janes before Schilliaci nailed a three-pointer to extend their edge to five. Janes then popped in a floater to cap off a 10-point swing, putting Fisher up 67-62. 

Schillaci proceeded to torch Houghton's defense, drilling two more threes on back-to-back possessions to widen Fisher's margin, 75-63, with 3:19 remaining. 

The Highlanders battled back, going on a 15-5 surge to cut their deficit to 80-77 with 39 seconds left. Gidney went 5-for-6 from the charity stripe in the final 37 seconds to seal the win for Fisher, 87-80. 

Game Notes

• Fisher matched its second-highest point total of the season (87). 

• Ten different Cardinals scored in the win. 

• Gidney's double-double marks the first of his collegiate career. 

• McCaffrey has scored in double figures six times this season. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face Keuka on Friday at Manning & Napier Varsity Gym. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.