Men's Basketball | 1/30/2015 9:53:00 PM

Box Score Box l Updated stats
ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Nazareth fell to visiting St. John Fisher 80-63 Friday evening in a men's Empire 8 basketball contest. Junior Maurice Mills led the Golden Flyers with 18 points while classmates Mitch Ford and Nick Nadeau had 17 points and 12 points, respectively.

With the loss, Nazareth falls to 6-10 overall and 2-5 in Empire 8 games. Following the victory, the Cardinals improve to 16-2 overall and 9-0 in conference games. The Golden Flyers ran into a torrid Fisher team as the Cardinals have won their last 14 games and entered Friday's game ranked third in the nation in scoring margin at 17.2 points per game.

After trailing by double-digits throughout the beginning of the second half, Nazareth trimmed its deficit seven points twice with about six minutes left in regulation. The Golden Flyers' 20-8 run brought Nazareth to within 64-57 with 6:25 to play. The run was ignited by a three-pointer by Nadeau, then followed by a free throw by sophomore Jack Mulcahy and a layup by classmate Dan Morse. Mulcahy and Morse followed with a three-pointer apiece to bring Nazareth's deficit to under 10 points, 58-49. After trading baskets, Mulcahy connected on another shot from outside the arc to cut the Cardinals' margin to seven points.

Fisher responded with a 14-4 scoring run over the final 5:32 to pull away for the victory. The Golden Flyers held the Cardinals to one field goal in the final six minutes, however, Fisher connected on nine free throws in the final three minutes to secure the victory.

In the first half, the Cardinals opened the game with an 18-8 lead in the opening 6:43 thanks to 75 percent shooting. Nazareth, meanwhile, was held to 21 percent shooting in the first minutes.

The Golden Flyers closed to within six points, 20-14, following a layup by Mills. The Cardinals answered with a 13-6 run to stretch their lead to double-digits. Fisher maintained its double-digit lead through the end of the first half. The Cardinals recorded 60 percent shooting (15-25) from the field and made 91 percent (10-11) of their free throws to maintain their lead.

Mills, Ford, and Nadeau combined for 27 of Nazareth's 29 points in the first half. Mills had 12 points and five rebounds to lead all players in both categories in the opening 20 minutes.

In addition to the 47 total points from Mills, Ford, and Nadeau, Morse and Mulcahy each finished with seven points, and sophomore Colin McGlynn chipped in two points. Despite Fisher's 38-31 advantage in total rebounds, Ford led all players with a game-high 12 boards.

The Cardinals finished shooting over 55 percent (27-49) on their field goal attempts and used a balanced scoring attack to stymie Nazareth's rally hopes. Keegan Ryan amassed a game-high 20 points to lead five Cardinals who scored in double-figures.

The Golden Flyers are in action again on Saturday when Nazareth travels to Ithaca for another Empire 8 Conference game.