PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Rochester kept battling back from deficits and as a result, the Yellowjackets defeated St. John Fisher College, 86-82, in the opening round of the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout at Fisher's Varsity Gym on Thursday evening.
 
UR, ranked #17 in the current D3hoops.com poll, boosted its record to 8-0. The Yellowjackets will play Nazareth College at 6 pm on Saturday evening – at Fisher – in the second round of the tournament. Nazareth defeated RIT on Thursday at Fisher.
 
SJFC is 3-2 overall. The Cardinals won the Virginia Wesleyan Tournament in mid-November, lost to Buffalo State three days later, then defeated Hobart, 91-81, on November 27.
 
UR won the game with balance. Ryan Clamage had 21 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Lundstrom had 14 points. Patrick Benka scored 10 points. Michael Mangan scored eight points, had three steals, and four assists. Jacob Wittig had 10 points and three assists. Ryan Algier had eight points and six rebounds.
 
Sammy Robinson and Matt Asenjo combined for 54 of Fisher's points. Robinson scored 28 points and Asenjo added 26. They were a combined 16-26 from the field, hit nine three-pointers (six by Asenjo), and were 13 of 16 at the stripe.
 
With the score tied at 34-all late in the first half, Fisher scored the last nine points of the period to take a 43-34 lead into the locker room. Asenjo hit a trey in the closing seconds for the nine-point bulge. Robinson's jumper on the first Fisher possession of the second half gave the hosts their biggest lead at 45-34.
 
Rochester battled back. With the score deadlocked at 70-70, Asenjo connected on a three-pointer with eight seconds left, giving Fisher a 73-70 lead and whipping the Cardinal fans into absolute bedlam.
 
Wittig was fouled with three seconds left and made both free throws (73-72). Alexander Gamble fouled Robinson. He made the first shot (74-72) but missed the second. Lundstrom rebounded it and threw a nearly court-length pass to Clamage whose layup beat the buzzer, tying the score at 74-74.
 
A Mangan jumper tied the OT score at 76-76. Clamage rebounded a miss by James Leone, the drove for a layup and a 78-76 lead. Thirty seconds later, he rebounded an Asenjo miss. Rochester couldn't convert on the possession but the Yellowjackets kept clawing the boards. Benka finally controlled it, was fouled, and sank two from the line for an 80-76 lead with 2:58 on the clock.
 
Robinson's trey and a pair of free throws put Fisher back on top, 81-80. Clamage made two from the line. With 1:10 left, he was fouled again. He made the first and missed the second. A lane violation by Fisher gave him another shot and he sank that (84-81). Benka sank one of two at the line before fouling out (85-81). Robinson did the same for Fisher with eight seconds on the cock. Clamage made one (86-82) and Fisher's final trey was off the mark.