PITTSFORD, N.Y. - The St. John Fisher men's basketball team started the game on a 6-0 run, but could not maintain its momentum in a 78-56 loss to SUNY Poly at the Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium. 

The Cardinals fell to 10-9 overall and 6-4 in Empire 8 Conference play with the loss, their third consecutive defeat. SUNY Poly improved to 15-4 overall and 8-2 in the E8, holding ground in a competitive top half of the league standings. 

The Wildcats' victory marked their third in a row over St. John Fisher.

First-year guard Mekhi Gidney led the Cardinals in scoring, tallying 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line. Senior guard Max Schneider and sophomore guard Andrew Violante chipped in seven points each, and sophomore center Maxmius Michalski added eight points with a team-high seven rebounds. 

Junior guard Anthony Rose and junior guard Marqiis Samuels led SUNY Poly offensively. Rose stacked 21 points and eight rebounds, while Samuels tallied 17 points and five rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting. Senior guard and Rochester native William Scanlon added 12 points, shooting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

How It Happened

The Cardinals jumped on the Wildcats early, with Gidney, Michalski and Schneider laying in baskets within the first two minutes of the game. The 6-0 lead would be the Cardinals' largest of the game, as Poly outscored them by 11 for the rest of the half to take a 32-27 lead into the break. The difference in the first half came down to the teams' three-point shooting, as St. John Fisher shot only 28.6% from downtown in the first frame. Rose took over the game before the end of the first, scoring five consecutive points to break a 27-27 tie. He capitalized this run with a coast-to-coast layup as time expired. 

The teams traded scoring early in the second half, as Gidney and Violante continued to finish strong in the paint for the Cardinals. 

The deficit was as little as two with 12:48 left in the contest, but the Wildcats began to extend their lead for good with a 16-3 run punctuated with back-to-back buckets by junior forward Kamryn Comstock, bringing the score to 58-43. Poly outscored the Cardinals 46-29 overall in the second half.

Game Notes

• Junior guard Giovanni Schillaci chipped in six points off the bench, knocking down two triples.

• First-year guard Carson Kwiatkowski pitched in four rebounds, good enough for second on the Cardinals and his career high. 

• Michalski and junior guard Jonathan McCaffrey each logged a blocked shot, their 34th and 11th on the season, respectively.

• Fisher logged nine steals in the game, led by Gidney, whose three swipes were a career high.

• The Wildcats beat out the Cardinals in paint points, 36-24. 

Up Next

The Cardinals finish their weekend at home with a matchup with Utica on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.