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CUMULATIVE STATSITHACA, N.Y. -- Tournament MVP Ryan McAdam scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Saturday as Nazareth held off St. John Fisher for a 64-63 men's basketball victory to win the championship of the Empire 8 Conference. The Golden Flyers also claimed an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament that begins Thursday.
The victory was Nazareth's third this season over Fisher as the Golden Flyers improved to 20-7 with their first conference title. Fisher, seeking its sixth straight conference title, fell to 16-11. Nazareth will be making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1998 and its fourth in the 22-year tenure of head coach Mike Daley.
Senior Joe Canori made two free throws for Nazareth with 1:45 to play to give the Golden Flyers a 64-63 lead and neither team scored thereafter.
Corey McAdam made a steal on an errant Fisher pass with :05 left, then missed the front end of the resulting one-and-one. Fisher committed another turnover on the ensuing inbounds play and McAdam misfired from the free-throw line once again. Justin Beigel grabbed the rebound for Fisher and hit the front of the rim on a desperation half-court shot as time expired.
"It was a scary shot (by Beigel)," said Daley. "I'm just very happy for our seniors who have worked so hard."
Nazareth led 12-7 early in the first half following a layup from senior Tyler Smith. St. John Fisher answered with a 10-0 scoring run spanning about three and a half minutes to take a 17-12 lead with 11:03 left in the first half. Senior Joe Canori trimmed Fisher's lead to 24-23 with a three-pointer with 5:26 to play before halftime.
The Cardinals responded with an 7-0 scoring run to extend their lead to a game-high eight points, 31-23, following two free throws from Brandon Witte. Witte also gave the Cardinals an eight-point lead a few minutes later with a layup. Ryan McAdam then scored five consecutive points in 21 seconds to pull Nazareth to within 35-32 with 1:35 to play in the half. Sophomore Rayvon Higdon connected on a two-point jumper in the final seconds to cut the Golden Flyers' deficit to one point, 35-34, at the break.
Nazareth and Fisher traded baskets through the first 11 minutes of the second half. The game featured five tying baskets and six lead changes during that span. Eventually Nazareth scored eight consecutive points to give the Golden Flyers their biggest lead of the night, 58-52, with 8:16 to play. Sophomore Corey McAdam began the run with a jumper and was followed by a jumper from Canori. Higdon added a three-pointer while Canori capped off the run with a free throw.
Beigel answered immediately with a three-pointer for the Cardinals to cut Nazareth's lead to three points. Fisher cut Nazareth's lead to one point three times before Matt Newman gave the Cardinals a 63-62 lead on Canori's two free throws.
In addition to the points from Ryan McAdam, Canori added 13 points and Corey McAdam added 12 points and six assists. Beigel finished with a game-high 23 points while Isaiah Smalt added 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for Fisher.
The Golden Flyers held a slim 36-34 advantage in rebounds while the Cardinals held a small edge in turnovers 14-10. Nazareth will find out where and who it plays against in the NCAA Tournament Monday afternoon.