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CUMULATIVE STATSITHACA, N.Y. -- The third-seeded Golden Flyers used a balanced scoring attack to defeat second-seeded Stevens 81-70 in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference tournament hosted by Ithaca. Senior Joe Canori recorded a team-high 22 points for Nazareth, but the Golden Flyers had four other players score in double-digits to secure the victory.
With the victory, Nazareth improves to 19-7 overall. The Golden Flyers will play rival St. John Fisher for the E8 title Saturday at 3 p.m. (WHTK-AM 1280 / www.whtk.com). Fisher upset Ithaca, 88-68, in the second game Friday. Stevens falls to 20-6 overall and will be hoping to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the conference tournament receives an automatic bid.
Nazareth grabbed an 8-5 lead in the first few minutes of the game following a three-pointer from junior Ryan McAdam. Canori and sophomore Rayvon Higdon connected on a three-pointer and a layup respectively on the Golden Flyers' next two possessions to stretch Nazareth's lead to 13-7.
The Golden Flyers led by 10 points, 36-26, with 4:42 to play in the first half following two free throws from Ryan McAdam and another layup from Higdon. After allowing the Ducks to cut their lead to 38-35, sophomore Corey McAdam connected on a fade-away jumper in the closing seconds of the first half to give Nazareth a 40-35 lead.
Stevens began the second half with a 7-3 scoring run to pull within one point of the Golden Flyers, but the Ducks never seriously challenged Nazareth thereafter. The Golden Flyers scored 10 consecutive points in under two minutes to take a 53-42 lead with 15:16 left to play. Senior Tyler Smith began the scoring run with a layup then added a jumper following a three-pointer from Canori. Ryan McAdam capped off the scoring run with another three-pointer. Nazareth extended its lead to a game-high 15 points three times in the final seven minutes to secure the victory.
Corey McAdam finished second in scoring with 17 points and added a game-high 10 assists. McAdam's 10 assists also broke the tournament's assist record. Higdon tallied 15 points coming off the Golden Flyers' bench while Ryan McAdam contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. Smith was Nazareth's fifth scorer in double-digits as he finished with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Waleed Farid led the Ducks with a game-high 23 points followed by Virgil Gray and Tim Williams with 14 and 12 points respectively. Williams also collected 10 rebounds for Stevens.
The Golden Flyers held a 46-35 rebounding advantage, however they turned the ball over 19 times compared to the Ducks' 10 turnovers.