Men's Basketball | 2/23/2017 11:04:00 AM

Tournament Central
ROCHESTER, NY – The Nazareth men's hoops team is primed and ready for the Empire 8 Conference Championship, which begins on Friday at St. John Fisher.  Fourth-seeded Nazareth will square off against the top overall seed St. John Fisher at 6 p.m. in the semifinals.

Tournament Schedule
Semifinals – Friday, February 24
No. 1 St. John Fisher (20-5 overall, 15-1 E8) vs No. 4 Nazareth (15-10 overall, 9-7 E8) vs – 6 PM
No. 2 Stevens (18-7 overall, 11-5 E8) vs No. 3 Utica (10-15 overall, 10-6 E8) – 8 PM
 
Finals – Saturday, February 25 at 4 p.m.
Fisher/Nazareth vs. Stevens/Utica
 
Follow Along
If you can't make the game, follow along with the links below:
Live Stats   l   Live Video   l   Follow Nazareth on Twitter    l   Empire 8 on Twitter  
 
Tickets
The hottest tickets in town are $5 for adults and $3 for students/seniors.
 
How They Got Here:
Fisher: The hosts of the championship had just one conference blemish in the 2016-17 season, coming at the hands of the Golden Flyers back on January 26^th, 75-67.  The Cardinals are riding an 8-game win streak into the tournament.  Senior Keegan Ryan, who just moved into first place on the all-time rebounding list at Fisher (962), is responsible for nearly a double-double a game, averaging 19.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.  Tyler English also is a scoring threat, averaging 13.4 points per game – he had a career-high 33 points in Fisher's double overtime win over Nazareth on February 11.
 
Stevens: Stevens limps into the tournament as the No.2 seed having lost three of its last four contests.  The Ducks are paced by senior guard Evan Klimchak, who averages 18.5 points per game, fourth-best among conference foes.  Fellow guard Spencer Cook also averages in double figures with 13.2 points per game.  The high-powered offense, which ranks second in the league at 82 points per game, also boasts Patrick Barron at 11.3 points per game.
 
Utica:  After losing its first 10 games of the season, the Pioneers righted the ship in conference play to win 10 of 16 games, good for the number three seed.  Heading into the final weekend, Utica needed a win over Elmira and for Hartwick to split with Nazareth and Fisher – the exact scenario that played out.   Junior forward Ivan Iton leads the team at 17.1 points per game and 9.9 rebounds.  Bennito Ayarza is the second leading scorer with 10.6 points and 3.1 assists per game.
 
Nazareth: Following an 80-71 victory over Elmira on Senior Day, the Golden Flyers faced a three-game road trip gauntlet against Fisher, Hartwick and Stevens.  The Golden Flyers fell in a thrilling double overtime contest at St. John Fisher, 103-92, a game in which Brendan Wind scored a career-high 48 points.  Nazareth then fell at Hartwick 80-79, surrendering a seven-point lead in the final minute.  In the regular-season finale, Stevens came back to defeat Nazareth 94-86 in overtime. 
 
Down the stretch, Wind has asserted himself offensively, with an in-conference average of 20.3 points per game.  He was named the National Player of the Week by USBWA after averaging 38.3 points and 7.3 assists in three games for the week ending February 12^th.  His 6.8 assists per game are tops in the conference and ninth nationally. 
 
Tyler Stenglein has been the model of consistency all year for coach Kevin Broderick, averaging a conference-leading 20.6 points, to go along with 7.4 rebounds.  The junior has scored in double figures in all 23 games he has played in this season. 

Jake Burgio has been a big factor for Nazareth in the low post this season, averaging 10.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
 
The Battle of East Ave
Nazareth and Fisher split the season series, with each squad defending its home court.  The Golden Flyers handed its rival their lone conference blemish of the season at Kidera Gymnasium, 75-67.  The second go-around was an instant classic, with Fisher coming out on top 103-93 at home.  Fisher's Tyler English hit a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into double overtime, where the hosts pulled away.   
 
E8 Tournament History
Nazareth and Fisher have never played in a semifinal game. They have played each other twice in the title game with Nazareth winning both times. The Golden Flyers are 3-0 against the Ducks and have not matched up with Utica.
 
NCAA Tournament Bid on the Line
The winner of the four-team tournament will gain the automatic bid from the Empire 8 conference into the 64-team tournament.