Box Score

 ROCHESTER, NY – A late second half rally was not enough for Nazareth Friday night, as top-seeded St. John Fisher downed the Golden Flyers 76-69 in the semifinals of the Empire 8 Conference tournament.   Fisher moves on to the championship game on Saturday and will host either Stevens or Utica with an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship on the line. 

Nazareth finishes the 2016-17 season 15-11 overall, while Fisher improves to 21-5. 

Fisher led by as many as 16 in the second half, with a 3-pointer from Sammy Robinson making it 58-42 eight minutes in.

Nazareth kept chipping away, with Brendan Wind converting a traditional 3-point play to bring the lead to 65-55 at the 6:25 mark. 

Nazareth ramped up its full-court pressure late, going on a 7-0 run to make it a 72-66 with :32 seconds to play.

In the end, Nazareth was doomed in the second half by poor free throw shooting, finishing 10-for-20.

Cody Green's third 3-pointer of the contest made it a five-point margin with :21 seconds on the clock, but that is as close as the Golden Flyers would come.    

Nazareth had a strong start to the game, jumping out to a 12-9 lead early.  The lead faded quickly however as the Golden Flyers went nearly seven minutes without scoring a point.  That allowed Fisher to go on a 14-0 run and take a 23-12 lead.  Nazareth struggled in the first half from the floor, going 11-for-32 (34.4), compared to 50 percent for Fisher (16-for-32). 

Wind eventually halted the run with two free throws.  Fisher took the lead 13-12 with 13:50 left in the first, a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the game. 

Nazareth attempted just three 3-pointers in the first half, the first a swish from Green at the 3:22 mark, making it 35-23.  He added one later for the Golden Flyers.

Jake Burgio quietly led Nazareth with 10 first half points as the Cardinals took a 39-28 lead into the break. He finished the game with 14 points (6-for-12) and eight rebounds.

Wind led the way with 26 points (8-for-24), to go along with four assists.

Tyler Stenglein poured in 11 points (5-for-9) and five rebounds.