ROCHESTER, NY – St. John Fisher shot 73 percent from the field in the second half and 63 percent overall from the field to hand RIT (14-11, 8-6 Empire 8) a 90-76 defeat before 650 fans on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale for both teams at the Clark Gym.

 

The Cardinals made 13 3-point baskets overall and shot 16-for-22 from the field in the second half.  They made 32 of 51 overall.  The win was the 10^th straight for the Cardinals, as they will host the Empire 8 Tournament next weekend.

 

Sean O’Brien led Fisher (22-3, 13-1 Empire 8) with 24 points, 11 assists and three steals.  He shot 8-for-11 from the field and drilled six 3-pointers.  Mike McGee made six 3-pointers en route to a 21-point performance.  Justin Beigel scored 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting and added 10 rebounds.

 

Fran Snyder (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon St. Jude) (Buffalo, NY/Bishop Timon) led RIT with 17 points, five assists and four steals.  Barrett Zeinfeld (Tuscon, AZ/Catalina Foothills) (Tucson, AZ/Catalina Foothills) drilled five 3-pointers and scored 15 points.  Tyler Springer (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell) (Endwell, NY/Maine-Endwell) added 14 points and four assists.

 

Dan McSweeney’s thunderous dunk off a Beigel miss put Fisher up 51-45 with 15 minutes left.  RIT promptly scored the next six points on consecutive 3-pointers by Springer and Zeinfeld.  The Cardinals then used a 16-3 run over the next three minutes to go up 67-54 and roll from there.

 

St. John Fisher led 41-38 at the half.  Both teams shot well over the opening 20 minutes, as The Cardinals were 16-for-29 (55.2 percent) from the field, while RIT was 15-for-32 (47%).  Each squad made five 3-pointers.

 

The Cardinals went on a 13-0 run over a five-minute span midway through the first half to build a 22-13 lead.  RIT responded with a 9-1 run to get back within one at 23-22 on a 3-pointer by Zeinfeld with 7:59 left. 

 

Fisher led by as many as 11 late in the first half.  RIT ended the half on a 14-6 run, as Rob Hampton (Ocala, FL/Belleview) (Ocala, FL) hit a long jumper right before the buzzer sounded to end the opening 20 minutes of play.

 

O’Brien led the Cardinals with 13 first half points and four assists.  Zeinfeld led RIT with nine points, as nine Tigers scored in the first half.

 

St. John Fisher out-rebounded RIT 34-23.  The Tigers turned the ball over just 10 times and had 10 steals.  The center duo of Tim Bacon (Massena, NY/Massena) (Massena, NY/Massena) and Mark Carson (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) combined for 14 points and seven rebounds, while shooting 7-for-8 from the field. 

 

Before the game, seniors Snyder, Springer and Drew Martin (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) (Oneonta, NY) were honored for playing in their final home game.  Snyder became the RIT all-time leader in games played today, with 107.

 

The Tigers are back in action on Friday, in the semifinal of the Empire 8 Tournament vs. St. John Fisher at 6:30 p.m.