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PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Visiting Nazareth outscored St. John Fisher 14-8 in overtime Saturday to complete a second-half rally that enabled the Golden Flyers to close out their regular season in men's basketball with a 68-62 win over the rival Cardinals.
 
Nazareth completed the regular season at 17-8 overall and 10-4 in the Empire 8 Conference. The Golden Flyers will be the second seed for next weekend's Empire 8 Conference Tournament at Hartwick. Nazareth will play third-seeded Stevens in a first-round game Friday at 6 p.m. in Oneonta. Top-seeded Hartwick and fourth-seeded Ithaca will meet in the other first-round match-up. The championship game is Saturday at 4 p.m. in Oneonta. Tickets will be $4 for adults and $2 for students.
 
Hartwick gained the top seed with a 91-76 win over Stevens. Ithaca is the fourth seed after defeating Utica 110-96 Saturday in the final day of regular-season competition.

Against Fisher in overtime, junior Tyshun Stephens scored seven of his team-high 19 points to spearhead the Golden Flyers' late surge. After Fisher took a 57-56 lead on a three-pointer by Jordan Gettings (23 poinits), Phil Scaffidi and Stephens each connected on three-point shots to give Nazareth the lead for good, 62-57. Stephens and Scaffidi each sank a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.

Nazareth was in trouble early on as Fisher raced to a 23-7 lead in the first 12 minutes behind seven points from Justin Plata. Nazareth shot poorly in the first half, hitting just 7 of 26 shots (26.9 percent), including 4 of 17 (23.5 percent) from three-point range. Nazareth made a run toward the end of the first half as Brad Ford and Stephens each connected on long-range shots to cut the score to 28-22. Gettings, however, scored the last five points of the first half as Fisher took a 33-22 lead at the break.
 
Nazareth chipped away in the second half, using a 23-11 scoring run over the first 14 minutes to take its first lead at 45-44. A short jumper by Scaffidi completed the run. Nazareth was in position to win the game in regulation after baskets by Jason Corletta and Ford extended the lead to four, 54-50, with 1:35 left. Corletta and Scaffidi, however, each missed the front end of one-and-one foul shot opportunities in the final minute to keep Fisher alive. The Cardinals ultimately forced overtime as Plata and Gettings each scored on drives to the basket on Fisher's last two possessions of regulation. Nazareth had the ball for the last shot of regulation, but Stephens drove to the basket and was unable to convert on an off-balance shot as time expired.

In overtime, Nazareth made four of five shots from the floor and all four of its free throw attempts to complete the rally

In addition to Stephens' 19 points, Scaffidi scored 14 and Ford had 13 with a game-high 11 rebounds. Nazareth also got a boost off the bench from senior Greg Lothridge, who had nine points, eight rebounds and three blocks. The three blocks boosted his career total to 170, surpassing Mike McGwin (1989-93) for the most in Nazareth history.