PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Sophomore Mike Concannon led four Dutchmen in double figures with a game-high 22 points as the Union College men's basketball team knocked off D3hoops.com #25 St. John Fisher College by an 89-71 score on Tuesday night at Bobby Wanzer Court.
The win is the first for Union (2-0) against a nationally ranked squad since an 80-77 win at #21 Hobart College on February 17, 2018.
Multiple Dutchmen had big nights on Tuesday led by Concannon, who shot 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from long range to go with his five assists and four rebounds. Junior Rhona Eseyade came up big with 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, while juniors Andrew Laub and Nate Freeman chipped in 12 points each in leading a bench unit that outscored their SJFC counterparts by a 37-9 margin.
After trading the lead early in the contest, St, John Fisher built up its largest lead of the night at 19-12 with 12:57 remaining in the first half. However, Union responded with a 13-0 run over the next 3:40, with sophomore Mike Manley hitting a trio of trifectas to lead the charge.
The Cardinals came back again to take a 30-29 lead with 4:13 left, but the Dutchmen again had a response by closing the half on a 11-2 run, finished off by a Freeman layup at the buzzer that put the visitors up 40-32 at the break. Union shot an even 50.0 percent (15 of 30) from the field during the opening half.
The home team made a run coming out of the locker rooms, twice getting to within a possession early in the half, but on both occasions, Concannon answered with a three-pointer. The Cardinals did eventually regain the lead at 47-46, but Laub grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession that resulted in three points for Union to take back the lead.
Freeman and Laub then took over the game offensively for the Dutchmen, scoring 14 of Union's next 17 points as the Dutchmen went on a 17-5 run to take a comfortable lead. The visitors hit 7-of-10 shots during the run, which put Union up 66-54 with 7:49 on the clock.
The lead never fell to single digits the rest of the way, reaching as high as 20 in the final minute on a pair of free throws by freshman Justin Regis.
Union capitalized on Cardinal mistakes in the second half, forcing 12 miscues and holding a decisive 16-4 edge in points off turnovers over the final 20 minutes. For the game, Union shot 49.2 percent (29 of 59) from the field and a sizzling 42.3 percent (11 of 26) from beyond the arc, while limiting the Cardinals to just 35.0 percent (21 of 60) shooting overall and only 3-of-23 (13.0 percent) from downtown.
The Dutchmen will take some time off for finals before returning to the court on December 1 at Wesleyan University.