With the victory, Rochester moves into the championship game for the second consecutive year. The Yellowjackets will play the winner of the second semifinal which matches SUNY Geneseo and top-seeded SUNY Brockport. The championship game will be played at 8 pm on Saturday at Roberts Wesleyan College and broadcast live by WYSL 1040AM.
Three players hit double figures and two others hit eight points as this was a complete team effort. All 12 players broke into the scorebook and everyone played between eight and 25 minutes.
Mike Chmielowiec scored a career high 20 points, hittign seven of nine from the floor, two of two outside the arc, and four of five free throws. He added four rebounds - three off the offensive glass - and one assist in 25 minutes.
Tim Brackney scored 10 points, had two assists, and three steals in 17 minutes. Dan Milbrand came off the bench to contribute 10 points, seven boards (five defensive), one assist, and one block in 20 minutes.
Eric Snider had eight points and four boards in 15 minutes. Jon Onyiriuka had eight points, five rebounds, and two assists in 23 minutes.
Rochester's win snapped Fisher's 10-game winning streak. One of the 10 wins came against Rochester, 69-67, in overtime at Fisher on December 7. In that game, the Cardinals regrouped, battled back, and won. Rochester had shooting woes at the foul line, hitting just 12 of 28 from the stripe.
This time, the Yellowjacket defense wouldn't let the Cardinals get going. Justin Biegel was the high point man for Fisher with nine. Dan McSweeney and Bill Liddell scored six apiece - Liddell's coming on two three-pointers in the second half.
Fisher shot 35.3% in the first half and an even 40% for the game. The Cardinals committed 19 turnovers (Rochester had six steals) which led to 32 Rochester points. The Yellowjackets outscored Fisher, 21-7, on second chance points and had a 34-18 scoring advantage in the paint.
Biegel made a conventional three-point play, making a layup, drawing a foul on Brackney, and cashing in the free throw to pull Fisher within 10-7 with 15:47 left in the first half.
Rochester answered with 10 straight points within four minutes. Chmielowiec hit a follow and added the free throw after a foul. Onyiriuka made one free throw, then hit a short hook in the lane. Milbrand had a layup, and Jeff Juron canned a jumper from just inside the three-point mark. That was part of an extended 24-5 run over eight minutes.
After Fisher's Matt Newman sank both ends of a one-and one, Onyiriuka's three-point play (another lane hook and a foul shot) started a 13-2 spurt over the next five and a half minutes to push the lead to 47-19. It was 47-21 at the half.