Box l Updated Stats

ROCHESTER, NY – The second go around of the East Avenue rival between Nazareth and St. John Fisher lived up to the hype, with the host Cardinals coming away with an 88-82 overtime victory Saturday afternoon.  St. John Fisher never trailed in overtime.

Nazareth's second loss to Fisher this season snaps a five-game win streak.  The Golden Flyers are now 13-7 overall and 9-7 in Empire 8 contests, while Fisher moves to 15-5 and 9-2, respectively.

With the score tied at 70 in regulation, Tyler Stenglein notched his first bucket of the half to give the visitors a two point lead with under a minute to play.

After Fisher converted one of two from the charity stripe on the other end, Stenglein buried two clutch free throws to push the lead to 74-71.  The Cardinals responded with a traditional 3-point play, allowing Nazareth to take the final shot.  Stenglein, who was 6-of-15 in the game, finished with 14 points.

In the overtime session, Fisher's Alex Sausville started with a triple, a lead the Cardinals would not relinquish the rest of the game. 

Mitch Ford converted a layup with :17 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 84-82.  Following two made free throws from Sausville , Nazareth came up empty  on the other end, allowing Fisher to seal the game with two more from the charity stripe. 

Fisher's Keegan Ryan established a presence early on, recording a double-double in the first half with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Fisher used a 10-0 run over a two minute span to open up a 36-25 advantage with just under five minutes to play in the half. 
 
Nazareth, however responded, closing the half on a 12-7 run, including six points from Stenglein to cut the Fisher lead to 43-37. 

Stenglein and Maurice Mills each recorded 10 points in the first half.  

The home squad led by as many as 10 following a 3-point field goal at the 14 minute mark.  Nazareth kept grinding though, getting back-to-back traditional 3-point plays from Ford.

Brendan Wind eventually gave Nazareth its first lead since the 12:58 mark of the first half on a layup and free throw after the foul.  On the very next possession the freshman hit a tough layup to push Nazareth's lead to 67-63 near the five minute mark.

Ford registered a game-high 29 points (11-of-17) and grabbed nine boards.  Mills, who was in foul trouble during the game, finished with 15 points (7-of-11), while pulling down eight rebounds.

Brendan Wind notched 12 points while Nick Nadeau chipped in nine.

Nazareth returns to action on Tuesday when it will travel to Hartwick College for its final away game of the regular season.