VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The St. John Fisher men's basketball team opened the 2026-27 season on Saturday with an 88-77 loss to Batten University at TowneBank Arena in the TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament.
The Marlins (1-0) trailed the Cardinals (0-1) by 13 more than 10 minutes into the first half before rallying with a 26-12 run to take a 36-35 lead into the break. Batten never trailed in the second half and pushed its advantage to as many as 15.
Sophomore guard Mekhi Gidney led the Cardinals with 22 points while shooting 9-of-14 overall (1-of-1 from three) and 3-of-3 from the foul line. Junior guard Jordan Cain, a transfer from Utica, scored 14 points while shooting 4-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 from the foul line. Junior forward Maximus Michalski had nine points and six rebounds, and senior guard Jonathan McCaffrey posted six points with a team-high seven boards.
The Marlins were led by Malcolm Velmar, who shot 5-of-6 overall and 6-of-9 from the foul line on his way to a game-high 17 points. Tykie Jones had 15 points and nine rebounds; Paul Anderson scored 13 points and led Batten with three assists.
Batten (33-of-52) outscored the Cardinals (13-of-24) by 20 from the free-throw line. St. John Fisher shot 55.6% overall and outscored the Marlins by 18, 48-30, in the paint.
How It Happened
The Cardinals outscored the Marlins 12-2 over the first four minutes of the game. Cain led Fisher with four points during that stretch, while McCaffrey, senior forward Christian Amica and junior guards Jack Janes and Alex Hayes each had two. After Batten cut Fisher's lead to 14-7, the Cardinals used a 9-3 push to extend their lead to a game-high 13 points, 23-10. Gidney led that run with four points.
It was almost all downhill from there for the Cardinals, as Batten went on a 21-5 run to take a 31-28 lead. Velmar scored 10 of his 17 points during that stretch, while Anderson contributed five and kickstarted the run with a 3-pointer.
St. John Fisher briefly regained a one-point lead, 35-34, on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Carson Kwiatkowski with 15 seconds left in the half, but the Marlins went back ahead at the buzzer on a layup by Brayden Thorne.
The Marlins ran away from the Cardinals in the second half, which they began with a 20-6 run to open up a 56-41 lead. Batten shot 63.6% from the field, 50% from three, and made 20 foul shots over the final 20 minutes.
The Marlins maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half.
Game Notes
Up Next
The Cardinals face Washington and Lee at noon on Sunday in the TowneBank Tip-Off Tournament Consolation Game.
