ROCHESTER, N.Y. – No. 23 Nazareth led for nearly 31 minutes before relinquishing a lead late to East Avenue rival St. John Fisher and eventually falling 70-67 on Tuesday at Bobby Wanzer Court. It was the first Battle of the Beaks matchup between the two squads, with a rematch slated for Saturday, February 11 at 7 p.m. at Kidera Gymnasium.
With the loss, Nazareth drops to 13-3 overall and 7-2 in league play, while Fisher improves to 11-5 and 7-2, respectively. Utica remains atop the Empire 8 conference standings at 9-0.
The two schools are down the street from each other in the Rochester, New York, area, and the two gymnasiums are less than a mile and a half away from each other in this local rivalry.
Nazareth led by as many as eight points in the game and there were just three lead changes over the first 35 minutes of action. The Golden Flyers took the lead at 9-8 and held that until Fisher was able to even the score at 61 apiece with 5:10 left in the game. Fisher's Ryan Gentile, who finished the game with 16 points, converted a pair of free throws to give Fisher its first lead in the second half at 63-61.
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| Ryan Gentile led St. John Fisher with 16 points in the win against its area and conference rival. St. John Fisher athletics file photo |
Nazareth's last lead of the game came when Jaylen Savage converted a jumper to make it 64-63 with just over three minutes to play. He was the Golden Flyers leading scorer with 21 points, while also pulling down eight boards.
Trailing 70-67, with one final chance to tie the game, Zach Stenglein's 3-pointer clanked off the iron. He finished the game with eight points, four assists, and two steals.
Jonathan Park contributed 17 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Jordan Haggard produced nine points, while Logan Blankenberg had 6.
Nazareth returns to action on Friday, traveling to Alfred for a 7:30 p.m. contest.