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| Hart's value is evidenced by the Cardinals' 3-3 record in his early season absence, and 17-2 record with him in the lineup. Photo courtesy St. John Fisher Athletics |
The St. John Fisher men's basketball team will enter this weekend's Empire 8 conference tournament in a familiar position, at least on paper.
The Cardinals concluded a 20-5 regular season by wrapping up the No. 1 seed with a home sweep of Hartwick and Stevens this past weekend. Last season, Fisher finished 21-4 and earned the top seed.
Same seeds, nearly identical records, but the similarities end there. This year's team took a considerably different path.
"Honestly, I couldn't be happier," head coach Rob Kornaker said. "I don't want to say surprised, because like I said, we're really talented. But there's not a lot of people who lose six seniors coming off a 25-win team that are lucky enough to get back to a regular season championship and win 20 games. Those are big accomplishments."
Last season, a veteran-heavy roster led the Cardinals to Empire 8 regular season and tournament titles, as well as a run to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament. This season, an infusion of youth has propelled Fisher to similar territory, with postseason accomplishments yet to be claimed.
Gone from last year's team are guards Optimystik Kinard, Stefan Bock and Adam Ambielli, along with forward Adam McVay, all major contributors on an elite defensive team. In their stead, the Cardinals have seen the rise of sophomore guards Tyler English, Alex Sausville and Tyler Farrell, all of whom are averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
Junior forward Keegan Ryan, a D3hoops.com preseason All-American, is the Cardinals' most decorated player, and for good reason. He leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.8 rpg), and at an imposing 6-8, 235 pounds, he demands constant attention in the post. That's helped free up senior guard Tyler Hart, Sausville, English, and Farrell on the perimeter.
"The one thing that's different this year than last year is the five guys on the court all can score," Kornaker said.
The Cardinals' second straight 20-win season is perhaps most impressive when considering the team's only two seniors, Hart and guard Chaz Lott, have barely been able to share the court due to injuries. Hart suffered a sprained MCL in the season opener and was forced to miss the next six games. Lott, a former Empire 8 Rookie of the Year, has missed the last 10-plus games.
Kornaker said when either player is on the floor, the offense almost always flows through them. The numbers certainly support that. Lott's 96 assists (5.6 per game) lead the team, just ahead of Hart's 90 assists (4.7 per game). Hart, who was unanimously voted as the team's captain this season, leads vocally, while Lott leads by example. The Cardinals are 17-2 in games that Hart plays this season, and 3-3 in the games he missed.
"That ought to tell you how important he is to us," Kornaker said.
Hart, who likens his underclassmen teammates to younger brothers, said the growth from year one to year two for the sophomore trio has been apparent.
"Even just one year of experience with playing together, it's definitely a huge difference," Hart said.
Kornaker said Sausville, who is averaging 11.4 points per game and leads the team with 50 three-pointers, is "probably one of the best shooters that I've ever had here." Farrell is also a strong shooter, while the ultra-athletic English has unleashed a handful of highlight reel-worthy dunks this season.
"He went baseline on someone and just rose up on two or three guys in the lane and just hammered it on them," Kornaker said of English. "If you saw that, you'd be thinking, 'Man, that's a Division I play.' He's only a sophomore and he's just getting better and better as the year goes along."
Kornaker always emphasizes defense but said this year's team is more efficient offensively, even though the Cardinals still lead the Empire 8 in points allowed per game (69.9). Under Kornaker's guidance, the Cardinals have won seven Empire 8 titles in his 15 years as head coach and have established themselves as a regular contender in March. The program has just one losing season since 1986-87.
The Cardinals have a chance to clinch a return trip to the NCAA tournament this week when they host the four-team Empire 8 tournament. St. John Fisher enters the tournament on a 27-game home winning streak.
"We feed off the crowd a lot here and we seem to shoot a lot better at home, too," Hart said.
St. John Fisher faces No. 4 seed Stevens, one of just two Empire 8 teams to beat the Cardinals this season. The other, Hartwick, is seeded third, so the Cardinals will have their work cut out for them.
But after a 4-3 start to the season with injuries and uncertainty abounding, the team is thankful to be sitting at 20-5 with its own destiny in its hands.
"I'll certainly be disappointed if we lose," Kornaker said, "but I won't be unhappy with these guys and I'll be certainly really proud of where they were and where they've come from and that journey getting there."
Conference tournament primer
The SUNYAC and NEAC conference tournaments are already underway, with the Liberty League and Empire 8 starting on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. The UAA is the only conference in Division III without a conference tournament. Washington U. has already clinched the women's title, but the men's title will be decided when Rochester hosts Emory at noon on Saturday.
D3hoops.com has every conference in Division III covered, both men's tournaments and women's tournaments. Below is a quick guide to the East region races.
SUNYAC
Men
Host: Plattsburgh State (after first-round games)
Schedule/results:
No. 3 Brockport State 82, No. 6 Buffalo State 78 (Tuesday)
No. 4 Oswego State 75, No. 5 Geneseo State 59 (Tuesday)
No. 3 Brockport State vs. No. 2 Cortland State, 5:30 p.m., Friday
No. 4 Oswego State at No. 1 Plattsburgh State, 7:30 p.m., Friday
Championship game: 4 p.m., Saturday
Women
Host: New Paltz State (after first-round games)
Schedule/results:
No. 3 Fredonia State 89, No. 6 Brockport State 81 (Tuesday)
No. 5 Oneonta State 68, No. 4 Cortland State 58 (Tuesday)
No. 3 Fredonia State vs. No. 2 Geneseo State, 5:30 p.m., Saturday
No. 5 Oneonta State at No. 1 New Paltz State, 7:30 p.m., Saturday
Championship game: 4 p.m., Saturday
Empire 8
Men
Host: St. John Fisher
Schedule:
No. 4 Stevens at No. 1 St. John Fisher, 6 p.m., Friday
No. 3 Hartwick vs. No. 2 Nazareth, 8 p.m., Friday
Championship game: 4 p.m., Saturday
Women
Host: Stevens
Schedule:
No. 4 Nazareth at No. 1 Stevens, 6 p.m., Friday
No. 3 Ithaca vs. No. 2 St. John Fisher, 8 p.m., Friday
Championship game: 4 p.m., Saturday
Liberty League
Men
Host: None; higher seed hosts each game
Schedule:
No. 4 Vassar at No. 1 Skidmore, 7 p.m., Wednesday
No. 3 St. Lawrence at No. 2 Union, 7 p.m., Wednesday
Championship game: TBA
Women
Host: None; higher seed hosts each game
Schedule:
No. 4 St. Lawrence at No. 1 Clarkson, 7 p.m., Wednesday
No. 3 Union at No. 2 RIT, 6 p.m., Wednesday
Championship game: TBA
NEAC
Men
Host: Lancaster Bible (after first-round games)
Schedule/results:
No. 2 (South) Gallaudet 85, No. 3 (South) Penn State-Berks 69 (Tuesday)
No. 2 (North) SUNYIT 71, No. 3 (North) Wells 49 (Tuesday)
No. 2 (North) SUNYIT at No. 1 (South) Lancaster Bible, 1 p.m., Saturday
No. 2 (South) Gallaudet vs. No. 1 (North) Morrisville State, 3 p.m., Saturday
Championship game: 12:30 p.m., Sunday
Women
Host: Lancaster Bible (after first-round games)
Schedule/results:
No. 2 (North) Morrisville State 70, No. 3 (North) Wells 60 (Tuesday)
No. 4 (South) Gallaudet 76, No. 3 (South) Bryn Athyn 70 (Tuesday)
No. 1 (North) SUNYIT 78, No. 2 (South) Penn State-Abington 66 (Tuesday)
No. 2 (North) Morrisville State at No. 1 (South) Lancaster Bible, 6 p.m., Saturday
No. 4 (South) Gallaudet vs. No. 1 (North) SUNYIT, 8 p.m., Saturday
Championship game: 2:30 p.m., Sunday
Top 25 roundup: Plattsburgh State moves up
The Plattsburgh State men, after closing the regular season with a two-game road sweep this past weekend, moved up two spots to No. 21 in this week's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
Lancaster Bible (25-0) held steady at No. 15, while Rochester, St. John Fisher and NYU each drew votes.
In the women's poll, Rochester slipped two spots down to No. 14. St. John Fisher and NYU both received votes.
Contact me
Have a story idea? A fun stat? Just want to talk some hoops? I'm always happy to hear from a fellow D-III fan. I can be reached via email at andrew.lovell@d3sports.com, or on Twitter at @Andrew_Lovell.
