It is Rochester’s seventh Chase Tournament title and it ties the Yellowjackets with RIT for most championships won. It also keeps Rochester’s record perfect in Chase finals at home. The Yellowjackets have won six of their titles on their home floor.
Gabe Perez was Rochester’s other double figure scorer with 13 points and eight assists.
Matt Morley led the Cardinals (9-3) with 14 points before fouling out. Sean O’Brien scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds, and handed out three assists.
It was a cold shooting night at both ends of the floor. Rochester hit 50% from the floor in the first half and jumped ahead, 33-20, at halftime. The Yellowjackets went scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half and Fisher pulled within 33-29.
O’Brien sank a three-pointer, Matt Morley added a layup and jumpshot, and Jeff Sidney hit a follow off the left block. The Fisher partisans in the season’s high crowd of 1,714 began to roar, sensing a game-turning rally.
Fisher, which made four baskets in the first four minutes, sank only one more in the next six minutes and Rochester answered. Hauben sandwiched a pair of jumpers in the paint around a twisting driving layup by Joe Canty and the lead was restored to 10, 39-29, with 13:21 left. The lead stretched to 12, 43-31, when Perez sank a three from the right corner.
The Cardinals tried to take advantage of their perimeter shooting, but shot just 18% outside the arc (7 of 38) and broke the Palestra record for three point attempts by a team (it was 32 by Hamilton, set in 1992).
Rochester and Fisher met four times previously for the championship. The Yellowjackets won all four – by a grand total of 10 points.