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PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Empire 8 Conference front-runner St. John Fisher dominated visiting Nazareth Saturday in men's basketball as the Cardinals took an early lead and were never seriously challenged in a 71-51 victory over the Golden Flyers.

Fisher, ranked 17th nationally by d3hoops.com, remained unbeaten in conference play at 13-0. The Cardinals are 20-2 overall. Nazareth, which plays its final home game Tuesday against Ithaca at 8 p.m., dropped to 8-14 overall and 4-9 in the Empire 8. Nazareth's Mitch Ford combined 16 points with 11 rebounds. Sophomore Dan Morse scored 13 points and junior Maurice Mills had 11. Keegan Ryan and Stefan Bock each scored 16 points for Fisher.

Using a balanced offensive attack, Fisher raced to a 30-15 lead in the first 15 minutes and extended that lead to 43-19 by halftime. Fisher shot 18 for 28 from the field (64.3 percent) in the first half, while Nazareth struggled by shooting 8 for 22 (36.4 percent). Ryan scored 12 of his points and Bock had 10. Ford scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds in the first half and Maurice Mills contributed six points.

Nazareth remained competitive in the second half, holding the Cardinals to just seven field goals, but Fisher's lead never left double digits. The closest Nazareth came was 14 points, 58-44, following a basket by Mills with just under six minutes to play.

Nazareth shot 39.5 percent from the field overall (17-for-43) and went just 2 for 10 from three-point range. Fisher also enjoyed a 43-27 rebounding advantage.