The St. John Fisher College men's basketball team took to the road on Tuesday, falling to East Avenue rival, Nazareth College, 87-84 in a pivotal Empire 8 contest at Kidera Gymnasium.

With the loss, Fisher moves to 5-3, 11-7 overall, while Nazareth improves to 12-6 on the season and 5-2 in the conference standings.

Neither team was able to gain a clear advantage until late in the first half with the score knotted at 31-31 when Nazareth opened up a five-point lead courtesy of a 7-2 run. The Cardinals went nearly six minutes without a field goal to close out the frame. As the halftime horn sounded, the Golden Flyers held a 38-33 margin.

Both teams were dialed in from distance in the opening stanza, as Nazareth shot 4-of-8 from three-point land, while Fisher connected on 5-of-10.
The home team continued to apply the pressure in the second half, extending its lead to 42-33 before Optimystik Kinard scored Fisher's first field goal in over seven minutes of play as the junior forward beat his man and converted on the jump shot.

Stefan Bock would cut the deficit to 10 points, 50-40, after converting an old-fashioned three-point play, but the Golden Flyers would open up a 17-point lead, scoring on three-straight possessions.

The Cardinals would claw their way back into the game, despite going nearly seven minutes of play without a field goal. Fisher cut into Nazareth's lead at the charity stripe, going 8-for-8 from the line to come within 10 points, 71-61, with just under five minutes left in the contest.

The visiting Cardinals continued to chip away as Tyler Hart sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to bring Fisher within eight points, 73-65.

The Golden Flyers held a nine point advantage with 1:08 left to go before Bock came up with a loose ball on the inbounds, allowing him to find Chaz Lott for the quick score to bring Fisher within seven.

Nazareth's lead continued to dwindle as Fisher would score nine quick points in less than 30 seconds after Kinard converted a three-point play and Adam Ambielli sank three free-throws after being fouled attempting a 3-point shot.  Seconds later, Hart buried a pull-up from beyond the arc to cap the rally, but it was not to be as the Golden Flyers converted their free-throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Five Cardinals scored in double figures on the night. Lott paved the way for Fisher scoring 16 points four assists. Bock chipped in 14, Ambielli 12, Kinard 11, and Pete Notaro added 10 points.

Fisher will continue its road trip beginning with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday at Stevens Institute of Technology.