MARIETTA, Ohio — St. John Fisher coach Michael Grosodonia had been waiting for his team to put together a good half this season.

What he got was a near-perfect second half that included an 18-0 that sparked St. John Fisher to a 94-75 victory over Birmingham-Southern in the second game of the Great Lakes Invitational at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Fieldhouse Friday.

"We finally showed the kind of team we can be in the second half. We didn't have a great opener (87-75 loss to Hobart)," Grosodonia said. "I think we kind of found ourselves in the second half. I give our seniors a lot of credit. They kept leading us."

After trailing 42-32 at halftime, Grosodonia said he tried to be as persuasive as he could in the locker room.

"It was more of a gut check for our guys. I challenged these guys to play tougher and be more physical," he said. "I'm proud of them. They took the message."

Sophomore Sammy Robinson, a 6-foot-5 guard, played a key role in the rout that lifted the Cardinals (1-1) to their first win of the season, but also Grosodonia's first win as head coach. He scored a game-high 23 points — with 18 coming in the second half.

"The special thing about our team is everybody just talks together," Robinson said. "At halftime, we just told each other to lock in and focus and play our hearts out, and we will get our first win."

Key to the comeback win was the defensive pressure St. John applied. Birmingham-Southern turned it over 17 times, which turned into easy baskets for the Cardinals.

"Every day at practice we put an emphasis on defense. We know if we get turnovers we can get easy baskets," said 6-5 senior guard Tyler English. "Once we started to get up and play the defense we know we can, it just skyrockets. The bench gets into it, and as long as we are forcing turnovers and getting easy baskets, it just expands our offense."

English finished with 17 points and three assists for a St. John squad that went 23-6 last year, including 15-1 in the Empire 8. Junior guard Ryan Henderson added 12 points and five rebounds, while sophomore guard James Leone added 11 points and five rebounds in the win.

Birmingham-Southern coach Chris Graves said he sensed the momentum switching to Fisher with about five minutes to play in the first half.

"In the first half, we were the aggressive team and had them on their heels. They flipped it late in the first half," Graves said. "It showed some areas we have to grow. Early in the season, we hadn't seen a lot of that. They were scoring without any real contested shots. They were just taking the ball from us. I should have taken another timeout during that stretch. I took one, but I probably should have taken three. You have to tip your hat to them and what a heckuva good half for them. They were the aggressive team."

The Panthers are 1-1 on the season, following a 14-14 record last year. Senior forward Harrison Deneka is one of two returning starters. He showed his experience by scoring a team-best 21 points to go with eight rebounds.

Deneka said the Birmingham-Southern team is enjoying the experience of traveling to Ohio and face stiff competition.

"It's good to see what the best teams look like and compare ourselves," he said. "It's a great experience to see these type of players. I just enjoy watching good teams play."

Graves agreed.

"We very much appreciate being invited to a big-time tournament that is run very well," he said. "We're excited to play a high-level team. Our philosophy from a scheduling point is to play the best teams we can. You want to see what you are made of and see where you can develop. Our teams have always peaked at the end of the season."

Grosodonia also enjoys the early season challenge for St. John Fisher.

"I think it's important. You want to play these type of games. You want to play good competition," he said. "I think our guys are really confident. We're going to surprise some teams, especially if we keep playing defense the way we can play."