ONEONTA, N.Y. – Mekhi Gidney scored a team-high 19 points, but the St. John Fisher men's basketball team fell to host SUNY Oneonta, 84-69, on Sunday at the Oneonta Tournament inside Dewar Arena.
The Cardinals fall to 3-2 on the season.
How It Happened
Fisher scored the first nine points of the game. Andrew Violante started the run with a steal that led to a Gidney fast-break layup, and he finished it with a three-point play at the 16:12 mark.
Griffen Hopkins hit a 3-pointer off the bench, and Jack Janes hit a 3 off a Hopkins assist to make it 21-10. Gidney's fast-break layup with 11:49 left in the half gave Fisher its largest lead, 23-10.
The Cardinals still led 28-17 after a Jordan Cain jumper in transition at 7:30. Oneonta then made five 3-pointers in 2:44, three of them by Kaden Gonzalez. Sam Booth's putback tied the game 33-33 with 3:13 left, and Pat Evans made two free throws at 2:38 to give the Red Dragons their first lead.
The lead changed hands eight more times before halftime. Gidney answered with a 3-pointer and two free throws. Giovanni Schillaci hit a 3 to put Fisher up 41-39 with 1:21 left, and Christian Amica made two free throws to make it 43-42 with 42 seconds left. Evans hit a 3 with 24 seconds left, and Oneonta led 45-43 at the break. Fisher shot 53.6% (15-of-28) in the first half.
Oneonta opened the second half on a 9-0 run to lead 54-43. Gidney scored seven points in 79 seconds with a jumper, a 3-pointer and a putback, cutting the deficit to 59-51 at 13:50. Oneonta then made three straight 3-pointers to go up 70-53 at 11:08.
Jake Pangrazio scored five points in 45 seconds on a layup and a 3-pointer. Hopkins made two free throws to bring Fisher within 72-61 with 8:38 to play. Gonzalez answered with two 3-pointers and a jumper, and Oneonta led 80-63 with 4:18 left.
Fisher shot 34.6% (9-of-26) in the second half, and Oneonta outrebounded the Cardinals 25-9 after halftime.
Gidney shot 7-of-15 from the field, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range. Janes had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and blocked three shots. Violante made both of his field goals and all three of his free throws for seven points.
Gonzalez came off the bench to score a game-high 24 points for Oneonta and made six 3-pointers. Booth had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Evans added 15 points.
Game Notes
- Fisher led by as many as 13 points. All nine lead changes and all three ties came in the final 3:13 of the first half.
- Fisher committed a season-low seven turnovers. It scored 14 points off Oneonta's 11 turnovers and had a 14-4 edge in fast-break points.
- Oneonta outrebounded Fisher 43-22 and had 11 offensive rebounds. The Red Dragons had a 14-5 edge in second-chance points.
- Oneonta made 13 3-pointers on 29 attempts (44.8%).
- Gidney's 19 points raised his scoring average to a team-leading 16.0 points per game.
Up Next
The Cardinals face Rochester at the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout on Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. in Oswego.
