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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Eighth-seeded Nazareth fell to visiting first-seeded Roberts Wesleyan 71-51 in the opening round of the Wendy's College Classic on Tuesday evening, which was played at Nazareth. It was a tale of two halves for the Golden Flyers as Nazareth led by 11 points twice in the opening period before settling for a 34-33 lead at the break. The Redhawks outscored the Golden Flyers 38-17 in the second stanza.

With the loss, Nazareth falls to 2-3 overall on the season. With the victory, Roberts, a Division II NCAA member, improves to 3-1 overall. The Golden Flyers will play fourth-seeded William Smith on Thursday at RIT on the consolation side of the Wendy's bracket. Thursday's contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. St. John Fisher pulled away from the Herons 73-51 in their Tuesday evening contest.

In the first half, sophomore Veronica Peck tallied a team-high 10 points on 4-5 field goals, including 2-2 on three-point attempts. Junior Maria Allocco amassed 11 rebounds, including five offensive boards, to provide the Golden Flyers' offense with additional possessions. Nazareth had a 22-21 edge in total rebounds at the break.

Allocco scored the first bucket of the game 2:42 into the contest as both teams struggled from the field in the opening minutes. With the Golden Flyers leading 12-10 with 12:42 to play in the half, Nazareth went on an 11-2 scoring run in a span of 2:39 to stretch their lead to 23-12. A three-point basket by junior Hannah Runyon sparked the run, which also included three-point baskets by senior Megan Morrison and Peck. Allocco also contributed a two-point jumper as well. After Roberts chipped into the Nazareth lead, senior Anna Wicks connected on a shot from outside the arc to reclaim the Golden Flyers' 11-point advantage with 7:18 to play in the half.

The Redhawks, however, outscored Nazareth 7-0 in the final 2:53 of the half to cut their deficit to one point at halftime. Roberts opened the second half with the momentum and used a 30-8 scoring run in the opening 13:14 of the half to take control of the game. The Redhawks stretched their lead to 63-42 following Emily Piacentini's three-point basket with 6:46 to play in regulation. The Golden Flyers trimmed their defict to 16 points with a three-pointer apiece from sophomore Julia Brew and Wicks.

Roberts built its second-half lead on the Golden Flyers' turnovers, forcing Nazareth into difficult shots, and improving their field goal efficiency from the first half. The Redhawks forced Nazareth into 20 total turnovers during the contest and also had five blocked shots. After shooting 14-34  (41.2 percent), including 6-11 (54.5 percent) from the field in the opening half, the Golden Flyers were held to 6-24 (25 percent) from the field in the second half, including 3-10 (30 percent) from beyond the arc. Roberts, meanwhile, improved from 13-33 (39.4 percent) from the field in the first half to 14-28 (50 percent) on their field goals in the second half.

In addition to Peck's first-half points, Brew and Runyon each had eight points while Allocco and Wicks contributed six points. Nazareth played without its leading scorer, sophomore Lindsey Kelly, who is averaging 16.8 points per game. Allocco collected two rebounds in the second half to finish with a game-high 13 boards.

Chelsea Sanders paced the Redhawks with a game-high 19 points while Piacentini finished with 13 points. Marissa Sell grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.