PITTSFORD, NY – Kamron Davis (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham) converted a clutch 3-point play with 21.5 seconds remaining to break a 64-64 tie and lift the eighth-seeded RIT men's basketball team (3-2) to a thrilling 69-64 win against St. John Fisher College (3-1), ranked No. 10 in the current d3hoops.com national poll and the top seed in the first round of the 50th annual Wendy's College Classic Tournament, held at Kidera Gymnasium on the campus of Nazareth College Wednesday evening.
 
RIT, the eighth seed in the tournament, beat the Cardinals for the first time since Feb. 8, 2011, a 60-57 win at Clark Gym. The Tigers beat a ranked team for the first time since Jan. 11, 2009, when they defeated No. 12 Ithaca 87-84, on a Nate Korinchak half-court heave at the buzzer.
 
With 30 seconds left, and the game tied at 64-64, AJ Horde (Oak Park, MI/University of Detroit Jesuit) knifed through the lane from the top of the key, drawing defenders, and wisely dished it to Davis, who went up strong for the bucket and the foul, sending the Tiger faithful who made the trip into a frenzy. Davis calmly converted the ensuing free throw, giving the Tigers the 67-64 lead with 21.5 seconds left.
 
RIT played solid defense on the ensuing possession, forcing a contested shot that Miguel Lopez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/St. Francis) corralled, drawing the foul, eventually sinking the ensuing free throws to preserve the victory. 
 
Horde led the charge on offense for the Tigers, scoring 24 points on 9-for-22 shooting from the field, adding eight assists and five steals. Davis scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, adding six rebounds. Lopez recorded 10 points for the Tigers, going 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
 
As a team, the Tigers shot 40 percent from the field, but held the Cardinals to just 34.5 percent, and their lowest scoring output this season. Keegan Ryan had a double-double, scoring 20 points and adding 10 rebounds to lead Fisher.
 
"It was a great, gutsy win for our guys," said RIT men's basketball head coach Bob McVean, who now has 48 career wins in the tournament. "They believed they could get this victory. We have a hungry team, and a few veterans that wanted to make a statement, and we did just that."
 
After an early 12-8 deficit in the first half, the Tigers went on a big 14-0 run to take the early lead, capped off by a pull-up 3-pointer by Horde, from about 25 feet out. From there, Fisher rattled off seven straight points, eventually cutting the RIT lead to three, at 31-28.
 
Horde kept the Tigers on track, aggressively hitting shot after shot from finishing the first half with 18 points. With just 11 seconds left in the half, Horde dribbled the ball on the wing, wisely passing it to Randy Golda (Lackawanna, NY/Park School) on the opposite wing. Golda sank the trey, and was fouled with no time on the clock. He sank the ensuing free throw to complete the four-point play, and gave the Tigers a 39-32 halftime advantage.
 
RIT took that momentum through halftime, beginning the second half on fire. In what was a wild first couple of posessions for the Tigers, Mitch Herman (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) sank a 3-pointer from the corner, pushing the RIT lead to double digits, at 42-32.
 
After a missed shot by the Tigers on their next possession, Horde stole the ball from the Fisher guard receiving the outlet pass, laying it up for the quick bucket. The Tigers defense came up big on the very next possession, forcing a shot clock violation. Then, Horde drove to the lane and pulled up, hitting a jumper from the top of the key, starting a 13-0 run to begin the half, pushing the lead to its largest of the game to 20, 52-32.
 
But the Cardinals wouldn't go away, erupting for a 25-6 run, as a 3-pointer by Alex Sausville gave the Cardinals the first lead of the half, 59-58 with just under five minutes to go.
 
Herman answered on the next possession, hitting a big 3-pointer from the corner, giving RIT the lead at 61-60 with 3:35 to play. Fisher's Ryan Keegan scored on a layup on the next possession, giving the Cardinals the lead, at 62-61. The lead went back and forth, with Chaz Lott grabbing the offensive board, scoring on the put-back, tying the game at 64 with 43 seconds to play, leading to the Tigers' heroics.
 
With the win, the Tigers have advanced to the semifinals of the Wendy's College Classic Tournament for the first time since the 2009-10 season. They will attempt to make the finals for the first time in 10 years with a true road matchup against fifth-seeded Rochester (5-2) at the Palestra, on Friday at 8 p.m. RIT last defeated Rochester in the Wendy's College Classic in 2005, advancing to the championship game.