ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Visiting St. John Fisher halted Nazareth's school-record 17-game winning streak in men's basketball Tuesday as the Cardinals out-muscled the Golden Flyers in a physical Empire 8 Conference game, 87-80, on Mike Daley Court at the Kidera Gymnasium.

It was the first defeat in conference play for the 23rd-ranked Golden Flyers, who are 11-1 in the E8 and 19-2 overall. Fisher, which lost to Nazareth in the teams' first meeting Jan. 29, improved to 17-5 overall and 11-2 in the E8.

Zach Stenglein and Kevin Underwood each scored 22 points for Nazareth. Stephen Gabel added 15 points and six rebounds.

Fisher led for nearly the entire game, except for a short stretch midway through the first half. The Cardinals led by as many as 14 points in the second half before a desperate Nazareth rally cut the deficit to four, 75-51, following a three-pointer by Gabel with 1:37 left. Fisher responded with an uncontested dunk at the other end. Nazareth kept it interesting until the final seconds as Gabel hit a pair of free throws and another three-pointer and Stenglein added a three-pointer, but Fisher went 8-for-8 from the foul line in the closing minute to stay ahead.

In a physical first half, Fisher led most of the way after scoring the game's first nine points. The Cardinals' lead grew as large as 10 points before Nazareth rallied to take a short-lived lead, 17-15, following a pair of free throws by Brendan Broderick. Fisher recovered to lead 34-30 at halftime despite seven points from Underwood.

Nazareth was able to tie the score at 42-42 in the first five minutes of the second half following a free throw and a field goal from Underwood. Fisher answered with a three-point basket on its next possession and the Cardinals were ahead the rest of the way despite Nazareth's resilient play.

Nazareth struggled with its outside shooting for most of the game in hitting 24-of-61 shots (39.3%). The Golden Flyers made 10 three-pointers. They also struggled a bit at foul line in going 22-for-33 (66.7%). Stenglein's final stat line included four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Gabel was stifled offensively for much of the game before emerging down the stretch to score 10 points in the final 2:09.

After four straight home games, Nazareth hits the road Friday to play Utica at 7:30 p.m. in a game that is shaping up as a battle for first place in the league standings. The Golden Flyers are back home Saturday for senior day against Keuka at 4 p.m.