PITTSFORD, NY – The RIT men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, losing to St. John Fisher 70-45 in the opening round of the 49th Annual Wendy's College Classic, the nation's longest running in-season Division III tournament. Freshman AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) led RIT with 15 points, four assists, four rebounds and a steal. RIT will face Nazareth College in the consolation round on Friday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. on the campus of the University of Rochester.

RIT shot 32.1 percent from the floor on 17-of-53 shooting. The Tigers were 7-of-26 from behind the arc, and went 4-of-6 from the foul line. Horde led RIT with 15 points on 6-of-15 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers. Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. JP Reagan (Cortland, NY/Cortland) finished with nine points and four rebounds.

The Tigers led briefly in the first half, opening a 13-6 lead at the 15:34 mark when Reagan drained a 3-pointer off an assist from Horde. That capped off an 11-0 run by the Tigers that saw RIT drain three straight 3-pointers. Mitch Herman (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) drained a three off a feed from Sheldon Clay (Detroit, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit). On the Tigers next possession, Clay hit from long range off a feed from Reagan. That led to Reagan's bomb to give the Tigers a 13-6 lead.

St. John Fisher responded with a 17-0 run of its own, holding the Tigers scoreless over a 10:21 span. Reagan stopped the drought with his 3-pointer with 5:13 to play, cutting Fisher's lead to 23-16. RIT responded with a 14-6 run over the final 4:41 of the half, trailing 32-30 at halftime. Horde and Reagan led RIT with nine first-half points, while Davis chipped in with five points and four rebounds.

St. John Fisher built an early nine point lead to start the second half when Charles McVay laid the ball in off a feed from Keegan Ryan giving the Cardinals a 39-30 lead. A quick 7-0 burst by the Tigers cut the lead to 39-37 when Davis scored off an offensive rebound by Miguel Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) with 15:34 to play.

A pair of Davis free throws with 14:10 to play got RIT as close as it would get in the second half, closing the Fisher lead to one at 40-39. After Garrett Sission made one-of-two free thows gave the Cardinals a 44-39 lead, Horde drove to the hoop and scored, cutting the lead to 44-41. The Tigers would get no closer as Fisher outscored RIT 26-4 over the final 11:38 to advance to the semifinals on Friday evening at RIT.