Fisher improved to 2-0 in the Empire 8 Conference and 9-1 overall. Nazareth is 1-1 and 5-5.
Nazareth led by as many as 13 points in the first half before Fisher rallied to tie the score at 37-37 by halftime. Nazareth regained the lead early in the second half, but Fisher went on a 24-11 scoring run to go up by 10, 61-51 with less than eight minutes to play.
Nazareth closed to within three, 62-59, on a basket by junior Joe Canori (pictured) with 4:27 left, but Fisher got a basket and a free throw from freshman Matt Newman and a basket by Justin Beigel to expand its lead to eight, 67-59, with less than three minutes left.
Nazareth played well early in generating a 14-2 lead in the first four minutes. Canori scored 18 of his game-high 30 points in the first 20 minutes and it was his three-pointer with 11:53 left in the first half that gave the Golden Flyers their largest lead, 21-8.
Nazareth still led by nine, 32-23, following a basket by Corey McAdam with 4:24 left in the first half. Fisher finished the half with a 14-5 scoring run to tie the score at 37. Newman's layup completed the run just before time expired.
Canori opened the second half with a three-pointer to put Nazareth back in front, 40-37, but Fisher took the lead for good, 48-45, on a three-pointer by Newman with 15:17 left.
Canori made 11 of 17 shots from the field, including five three-pointers to lead Nazareth. McAdam added 10 points and junior Tyler Smith pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Beigel was Fisher's high scorer with 17 points. Newman had 11 and Dan Mueller finished with 10. Senior Dan McSweeney had 12 rebounds.
Both teams return to action this week for the annual JPMorgan Chase Scholarship Tournament. First-round games will be played at RIT and Keuka starting Wednesday. Seedings will be revealed Sunday night.
Newspaper Box Score St. John Fisher vs Nazareth 01/06/07 4 p.m. at Kidera Gymnasium - Nazareth College At Kidera Gymnasium - Nazareth College ST. JOHN FISHER 73, NAZARETH 63 ST. JOHN FISHER (2-0 E8, 9-1) Justin Beigel 7-13 3-7 17; Matt Newman 4-5 1-2 11; Dan Mueller 3-10 2-2 10; Mike McKeever 3-5 0-0 9; Mark Bearden 2-3 2-2 7; Dan McSweeney 2-12 2-6 6; Chris Baltz 2-4 0-0 4; Isaiah Smalt 2-4 0-0 4; Tim Coyne 1-1 0-0 3; Adrian Fenyn 1-1 0-0 2; Dan Evans 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-59 10-19 73. NAZARETH (1-1 E8, 5-5) Joe Canori 11-17 3-3 30; Corey McAdam 4-11 2-2 10; Jeff DeHimer 3-5 1-2 7; Rayvon Higdon 2-11 1-2 6; Tyler Smith 3-7 0-0 6; Nick Bozzelli 1-1 0-0 2; Leon Hill 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-54 7-9 63. St. John Fisher............... 37 36 - 73 Nazareth...................... 37 26 - 63 3-point goals-St. John Fisher 9-19 (Mike McKeever 3-5; Dan Mueller 2-6; Matt Newman 2-3; Tim Coyne 1-1; Mark Bearden 1-2; Chris Baltz 0-1; Justin Beigel 0-1), Nazareth 6-13 (Joe Canori 5-8; Rayvon Higdon 1-4; Corey McAdam 0-1). Fouled out--St. John Fisher-None, Nazareth-None. Rebounds-St. John Fisher 31 (Dan McSweeney 10), Nazareth 38 (Tyler Smith 14). Assists-St. John Fisher 12 (Dan Mueller 3), Nazareth 9 (Corey McAdam 3). Total fouls-St. John Fisher 16, Nazareth 16. A-800