Utica, NY (1/4/2013) – The Utica College men's basketball fought hard but came up short, 70-61, against visiting St. John Fisher College in Empire 8 Conference action on the hardwood at the Clark Athletic Center on Friday night.  Connor Maisch (Kingston, NY/John A. Coleman) led the way for the Pioneers with 17 points (3-of-6 from 3-point range), while Chris Jeffers (Albany, NY/Bishop Maginn) chipped in with a workmanlike ten points and nine rebounds.  

Fisher had four different players score in double-figures as it moved its record to 8-4 overall and remained unblemished in the Empire 8 (3-0).  Optimystik Kinard netted a team-high 13 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Thad Weir hit 4-of-7 seven from behind the arc (all in the first half) to pace the Cardinals. 

The Pioneers dropped their record to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in the Empire 8 as they prepare to host Alfred University on Saturday at 4 p.m.  The Cardinals will travel back West to take on Ithaca College Saturday (4 p.m.). 

The first 8:11 of the contest was a shootout that saw Fisher's Thad Weir knock down four consecutive 3-pointers on four straight Cardinal possessions in a span of 1:35.  Weir's 12 straight points was part of a 15-5 Fisher run which pushed the visitors to a 21-16 lead with 11:49 to go in the first half of play. The Pioneers answered with a 9-5 run of their own to cut their deficit to just one point, 26-25, with 5:45 to go in the half. 

The Cardinals closed out the first half on a 15-12 run in a span of 5:37 to take a 42-37 lead into the locker room at the intermission.  

Fisher opened the second half much like it ended the first, as they used a 15-6 run in a span of 5:26 to increase its lead to 57-43 5:39 into the second stanza.  The Pioneers would not go down easy as they put together a 14-3 run of their own to cut Fisher's lead to three points, 60-57, with 7:47 to go in the contest. 

The Pioneers struggled to score down the stretch as they netted just four points in the final 6:23 of the game, leading to a 10-4 Fisher run to close out the contest. 

Fisher scored 22 points off of 22 Utica turnovers and they did not relinquish the lead in the entire second half.  UC outrebounded Fisher 36-26 on the afternoon, but Fisher's bench scoring provided 21 points to lift the Cardinals to the E8 victory. 

Utica's Matt Baldwin (Gloversville, NY/Gloversville) netted 12 points, while big man Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) dished out five assists and score four points.  Marion Lewis (Bronx, NY/Lehman) came off the bench and scored seven points, while adding six rebounds. Senior forward Alex Meyer (Salt Point, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) netted four points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor for UC.  Sophomore point guard Aaron Nevins (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) also posted seven points, but turned the ball over five times for the Pioneers.

Fisher's Chaz Lott scored 11 points, added four assists and snagged three steals, while Justin Plata chipped in with ten points and four rebounds.  Senior Jason Norsen had a nice night overall, as he scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked five shots in the middle.  Adam Ambielli added seven points for the Cardinals. 

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