PITTSFORD, N.Y., February 28, 2004 — Top-seeded St. John Fisher College opened with a 17-0 run over the first 6:30 in the semifinals of the inaugural Empire 8 Conference Men’s Basketball Championship and went on to defeat fourth-seeded Ithaca College 82-57 at Fisher’s Manning-Napier Gymnasium Saturday afternoon.
“I knew we would come out with some emotion, but I didn’t envision us jumping all over them (Ithaca) like we did,” said Fisher (20-6) coach Rob Kornaker who can lead his team to its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance with a victory Sunday.
“Starting the game like that helped us win; it took Ithaca by surprise and took them out of the game early.”
Ithaca (13-13) brought the score within 14 points, its smallest deficit of the game, midway through the first half, but Fisher went on a 17-5 run to close out the first half, leading 47-21 at halftime.
Matt Morley (Union-Endicott/Endicott) led all scorers with 17 points, including four three-pointers. Morley also grabbed three rebounds and dished out three assists for the Cardinals.
Fisher’s Nick Bennett (Binghamton/Binghamton) recorded his third double-double in the last four games with a season-high 16 points and 13 rebounds. Jeff Sidney (Herkimer/Herkimer) added 11 points for Fisher.
The Cardinals shot 51% from the floor, including 40% from three-point range, while the Bombers shot 32% from the field and 14.3% from beyond the arc.
Tyler Schulz (Monroe Woodbury/Monroe) led Ithaca with 13 points, while Jim Bellis (Bloomfield/Bloomfield) scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Fisher advances to the Empire 8 Championship game and will face the winner of No. 2 seed Rochester Institute of Technology and No. 3 seed Utica College at 1 p.m. Sunday at Fisher, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.