BOX SCORE

The St. John Fisher College men's basketball program suffered its first Empire 8 Conference loss on Friday night, falling 84-82 to Hartwick College at Manning & Napier Varsity Gym.

With the loss, Fisher falls to 7-5 overall and 1-1 in the Empire 8, while Hartwick moves to 7-5, 3-0.

Fisher, who trailed by six points with less than one minute left, nearly forced overtime, but freshman Keegan Ryan was unable to convert at the foul line with .5 seconds remaining.   After missing his first attempt, the Cardinals were called for a lane violation on the second shot. 

Following a back-and-forth first half, Hartwick led 36-35 at the break and pushed its lead to double digits at 49-39 with 14:59 left in the game.

The Cardinals, however, chipped away at the advantage and regained the lead at 57-56 with 8:43 left on a layup from Chaz Lott, who finished with a career-high 25 points.  The lead didn't last for long though as the Hawks scored a three-point-play on the ensuing possession.   Fisher was able to tie the game up five different times in the final seven minutes, but was never able to reclaim the lead, despite hitting three 3-pointers in the final :50 seconds.

Junior-transfer Stefan Bock enjoyed his best game in a Fisher uniform, tallying 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Sophomore Tyler Hart 14 points and made three 3-pointers, while Adam Ambielli added 10 points.  Ryan finished with eight points and a team-high eight boards.

Fisher returns to action at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will host Stevens Institute of Technology.  The Ducks are 3-0 in the Empire 8 after winning at Nazareth on Friday.