BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Sophomore forward Maximus Michalski and freshman guard Mekhi Gidney both tallied 17 points as the St. John Fisher men's basketball team defeated Brockport 77-63 Friday night at the Jim and John Vlogiantis Gymnasium. The victory marked Fisher's first over the Golden Eagles since November 2012. 

The Cardinals (6-5, 2-0 Empire), who pushed their winning streak to three, locked down the Golden Eagles (5-6, 1-1 E8) defensively, holding them to 30.3% shooting, including 20% in the second half. The Cardinals shot 44.8% from the field and 40% from behind the arc. 

Gidney finished with 7-for-16 shooting and a season-high nine rebounds. Michalski shot 7-for-12 and hauled in six rebounds. Sophomore guard Alex Hayes registered 12 points on 3-for-4 shooting from deep, and sophomore guard Andrew Violante scored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting. 

How It Happened

After a 5-0 start from the Golden Eagles, Hayes drained a three-pointer, and Gidney knocked down a jumper on back-to-back Cardinals possessions to tie the game. Fisher took its first lead, 10-7, with another triple from Hayes a minute later. 

The Cardinals extended their edge to 16-9 on 3-pointers from Gidney and senior guard Max Schneider. Brockport answered with five straight points, but Fisher countered with a 7-2 spurt fueled by two straight buckets from Michalski to hold a 23-16 advantage at the 12:36 mark. 

Both sides traded blows the rest of the half. The Cardinals pushed their lead to eight points five different times but could not break the contest open, as Brockport outscored them by a point in that span for a 43-37 score heading into the locker room. 

Hayes led all scorers with 12 points at the break. The Cardinals shot 47.2% from the floor in the first frame and a scorching 50% from behind the arc, while the Golden Eagles shot an equally efficient 46.2% total. 

The Golden Eagles held Fisher to 1-for-9 shooting to begin the second half and narrowed their deficit to three, 47-44, with 16:15 to go. The Cardinals responded with two crucial stops on defense to prevent the Golden Eagles from tying the contest, and Michalski sank a baseline jumper to stretch their lead back to two possessions, 49-44. 

Fisher proceeded to score eight straight points, four of those points coming from Violante, to secure its first double-digit margin of the night, 57-44. Brockport broke its scoring drought and cut the gap to 10, but the Cardinals scored seven more unanswered points, with five coming from sophomore guard Jack Janes, to grow their lead to 66-49 with 7:44 left.  

Gidney tacked on four points, and Michalski added five points, including an exclamation-point slam with 38 seconds to go, as Fisher maintained its double-digit advantage the rest of the way to claim the victory, 77-63. 

Game Notes

• Gidney finished in double-figure scoring for the second straight game following his 21-point performance at Alfred on Tuesday. 

• Brockport's 30.3% shooting percentage and 16.7% three-point percentage are the lowest Fisher metrics has held an opponent to this season. 

• Junior guard Johnathan McCaffrey also snagged nine rebounds. 

Up Next

The Cardinals face SUNY Geneseo on Jan. 10 at Carl Schrader Gymnasium. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.