| 2/12/2008 8:35:30 PM

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ROCHESTER, NY -- The RIT men's basketball team was defeated by St. John Fisher College 71-65 in Empire 8 action on Tuesday evening at Clark Gymnasium.

The loss drops RIT to 12-10 overall and 6-7 in the Empire 8. St. John Fisher improves to 13-8 overall and 9-3 in the Empire 8.

There were three lead changes and eight ties in a tightly contested first half that was tied at 34-34.

RIT led by as many as seven points in the first half thanks to an 11-3 run that gave the Tigers the lead on a layup by Mark Carson (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) (Voorheesville, NY).

The Tigers extended their lead to seven points on a three-pointer by Scott Young (Almond, NY/Hornell) (Hornell, NY) with 7:04 remaining in the half.

The Cardinals were able to cut the lead down and a layup by Rick Whitwood (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) (Wellsville, NY) with time running out in the first half tied the score at 34-34.

St. John Fisher opened the second half with a 5-0 run and never relinquished the lead. The Cardinals extended it to seven at the 15:33 mark.

Shane Foster (Woodland Hills, CA/Calabasas)'s (Woodland Hills, CA/Calabasas) free throws with 13:52 remaining made it a 2-point contest. The freshman with 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor.

Fisher built their out to seven points again but the Tigers were able to whittle away at the lead and had a chance to tie the score when Rick Whitwood (Wellsville, NY/Wellsville) was fouled while attempting a three-pointer. He made one-of-two free throws, cutting Fisher's lead to two points at 65-63.

With less than a minute remaining in regulation Kenny Gethers (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) sank a pair of free throws, making it 67-65 St. John Fisher.

However, missed shots and turnovers down the stretch cost the Tigers a chance to tie the score and send it into overtime.

RIT shot 45.1% from the floor in the game on 24-of-52 shooting from the floor. The Tigers made 7-of-19 from behind the arc and 12-of-18 from the free throw line.

Shawn Roe (Corning, NY/Corning East) (Corning, NY/Corning East) led RIT with 13 points. He was 5-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point land. Shane Foster (Woodland Hills, CA/Calabasas) had 12 points and Mark Carson (Voorheesville, NY/Voorheesville) added 10 points for RIT. Kenny Gethers (Syracuse, NY/Bishop Grimes) scored eight points and had eight rebounds.

St. John Fisher shot 53.3% from the floor on 24-of-45 shooting. The Cardinals went 8-of-16 from three-point land and 15-of-20 from the charity stripe.

Justin Biegel led all scorers with 15 points. Matt Newman, Chris Baltz and Isaiah Smalt leach had 13 points for the Cardinals.

RIT will host Hartwick College on Friday evening at 8 pm.