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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Senior
Corey McAdam finished with a game-high 26 points for Nazareth, but host St. John Fisher shot 60 percent from the field in the second half to hold on for the 80-75 victory in an Empire 8 Conference men's basketball game.
With the loss, the Golden Flyers drop to 12-6 overall and 7-2 in conference games. The Cardinals improve to 16-3 overall and 10-0 in Empire 8 contests. Fisher and Nazareth currently hold the first- and second-place spots in the E8 standings. The Cardinals continued their winning streak and have won 13 of their last 14 games.
After Fisher claimed a 33-26 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the first half, the Golden Flyers rallied with a 14-2 scoring run, including a 9-0 scoring run to close the half. The rally was initiated by sophomore
Jake Fladd and spurred by a dunk from sophomore
Greg Lothridge. McAdam continued the run with a pair of three-point baskets and freshman
Dan Waldbillig added two free throws. The scoring run gave Nazareth a 40-37 lead at halftime.
The Cardinals opened the second half with a scoring run of their own. Fisher started the half with a 10-2 scoring run to take a 47-42 lead with 15:31 to play. The Golden Flyers answered with a quick 7-0 scoring run that spanned just 29 seconds. The run, which put Nazareth ahead 51-49, consisted of a layup by McAdam, a three-point basket by freshman
Tyshun Stephens, and a layup by sophomore
Phil Scaffidi.
Over the next few minutes, the game featured two ties and three lead changes as the teams traded baskets. Fisher's Matt Newman gave the Cardinals the lead for good, 60-59, by connecting on his free throw attempt with just under 10 minutes to play. The Golden Flyers, however, never trailed by more than two possessions. Newman finished the game 9-10 from the free throw line.
The Cardinals appeared to have control of the game after taking a 75-69 lead with 2:50 to play. McAdam and Scaffidi, however, scored back-to-back baskets to bring Nazareth to within one point with 1:38 remaining. After Jordan Gettings connected on one of his two free throws, the Golden Flyers trailed 78-75 in the final 30 seconds, but they were unable to get a three-point shot off to tie the game. Newman made a steal and connected on his last two free throws in the final seconds to secure the Fisher victory.
In addition to the points from McAdam, he also added seven rebounds and seven assists. Scaffidi finished with 17 points while sophomore
Jason Corletta had 13 points. Lothridge added 10 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Flyers.
Gettings had a team-high 20 points for the Cardinals, followed by Newman with 13 points, and Michael Wopperer with 12 points. Connor Henderson and Will Cornett contributed 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Newman also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Fisher held a 43-29 advantage in total rebounds. Fisher also had twice as many free throw opportunities as Nazareth, which helped seal the Golden Flyers' defeat. The Cardinals connected on 17-22 free throws while Nazareth was 7-11. The Golden Flyers' defense forced the Cardinals into 18 turnovers as opposed to 10 turnovers by Nazareth.
Nazareth returns home to play Alfred Friday evening and Stevens Saturday afternoon in two Empire 8 games. The Golden Flyers host Fisher in their second match-up of the season Tuesday, February 16th.