News Release

Ithaca, N.Y. -- — The men's basketball team (11-10, 6-4 Empire 8) lost to St. John Fisher 111-99 in four overtimes in the longest game in the history of Ben Light Gymnasium. Sophomore center Jeff Bostic (Geneva/Geneva) led Ithaca with 23 points and nine rebounds.

Sophomore forward Sean Leahy (West Genesee/Syracuse) was second on the team with 22 points. Sophomore guard Sean Burton (Notre Dame/Yorkville) finished with 20 points and dished out a team-high nine assists. Senior forward Sean Stahn (Ardsley/Scarsdale) scored 11 points – all in first half – and grabbed five rebounds. Stahn, Burton and junior guard Scott Ruffrage (Utica Notre Dame/Whitesboro) each had a team-best three steals. Ruffrage was second on the team with eight boards.

The Cardinals had five players in double-digits. They were lead by senior guard Dan Mueller (Waterloo/Waterloo), who scored a team-high 25 points and made a team-best five assists. Senior center Dan McSweeney (Marcellus/Marceellus) had a double-double as he finished with 23 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Chris Baltz (Vestal/Vestal) scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Baltz's classmate Matt Newman (Campbell-Savona/Campbell), a guard, scored 17 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. Junior forward Justin Beigel (Colerain/Cincinnati, Ohio) finished with 13 points.

St. John Fisher (17-5, 8-3 Empire 8)held the lead until Ithaca went on an 13-4 run starting at 13:39 of the first half on a lay-up by Stahn. After sophomore guard Brendan Rogers (Liverpool/Liverpool) capped the run at 8:16, the game was tied at 22-22. The Cardinals finished the first half with a 37-27 lead.

St. John Fisher held its largest lead of the game, 41-29, at the 19:42 mark of the second half. The Bombers rallied and pulled to within four points (56-52) with 7:14 remaining. A three-pointer by Leahy with 2:55 remaining cut the Cardinals lead to only one at 64-63. St. John Fisher held a three-point lead until Burton nailed a three-pointer with only 0:19 remaining. A Bomber foul sent the Cardinals to the line, where they grabbed a 70-68 lead. Leahy answered with only 0:04 remaining to send the game into overtime and end regulation at 70-70.

In the first extra period, the Bombers grabbed the early lead with a three-pointer by Leahy. St. John Fisher answered and held the lead until Ruffrage hit a three-pointer with 0:06 remaining. The first overtime ended at 79-79.

The two teams stayed close in the second overtime as the game remained within two points throughout the period. Burton made two free-throws with 0:35 remaining to extend play at 85-85.

The third overtime was controlled by the Bombers, who never trailed during the five minutes. Bostic’s jumper with 0:28 remaining gave the Bombers a 91-89 lead. The Cardinals answered with a lay-up with 0:13 remaining. The third overtime ended at 91-91.

In the fourth overtime, the Cardinals opened with a 9-3 run and never looked back. The game ended at 111-99.

Bostic scored a 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Burton scored eight points and made four assists in the four overtimes

The Bombers play their final home game of the season as they host Alfred Saturday at 8 p.m.

Newspaper Box Score
St. John Fisher vs Ithaca
02/09/07 8 p.m. at Ithaca, N.Y. (Ben Light Gymnasium)
At Ithaca, N.Y. (Ben Light Gymnasium)
ST. JOHN FISHER 111, ITHACA 99
ST. JOHN FISHER (17-5, 8-3 E8)
Dan Mueller 8-10 6-6 25; Dan McSweeney 9-16 5-6 23; Chris Baltz 5-10 8-8 18;
Matt Newman 3-8 10-12 17; Justin Beigel 5-11 2-3 13; Isaiah Smalt 4-12 0-0
8; Mark Bearden 0-1 3-4 3; Matt Haley 1-1 0-0 2; Tim Coyne 1-3 0-0 2; Adrian
Fenyn 0-0 0-0 0; Brandon Beigel 0-1 0-0 0; Mike McKeever 0-1 0-0 0. Totals
36-74 34-39 111.
ITHACA (11-10, 6-4 E8)
Jeff BOSTIC 10-19 3-5 23; Sean LEAHY 8-19 3-4 22; Sean BURTON 7-24 4-4 20;
Sean STAHN 5-8 1-2 11; Tom BROWN 2-6 4-6 8; Dominic SCANLON 3-5 1-2 8; Scott
RUFFRAGE 2-4 0-2 5; Brendan ROGERS 1-4 0-2 2; Steve PRUZINSKY 0-0 0-0 0;
Alex ADRIEN 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-89 16-27 99.
St. John Fisher...............   37   33    9    6    6   20  -  111
Ithaca........................   27   43    9    6    6    8  -   99
3-point goals--St. John Fisher 5-11 (Dan Mueller 3-5; Justin Beigel 1-1;
Matt Newman 1-1; Mark Bearden 0-1; Tim Coyne 0-2; Mike McKeever 0-1), Ithaca
7-22 (Sean LEAHY 3-9; Sean BURTON 2-9; Scott RUFFRAGE 1-1; Dominic SCANLON
1-3). Fouled out--St. John Fisher-Justin Beigel, Ithaca-Brendan ROGERS; Sean
STAHN; Scott RUFFRAGE. Rebounds--St. John Fisher 50 (Dan McSweeney 13),
Ithaca 43 (Jeff BOSTIC 9). Assists--St. John Fisher 15 (Dan Mueller 5),
Ithaca 22 (Sean BURTON 9). Total fouls--St. John Fisher 22, Ithaca 29.
Technical fouls--St. John Fisher-None, Ithaca-None.