Worcester, MA --- Junior Jason Norsen (Hamburg, NY) scored 15 points while adding team highs with eight rebounds, four assists and five blocks to help lead St. John Fisher to a 64-59 triumph over Worcester State in non-conference men's basketball action this afternoon at Lancer Gymnasium.
In the first ever meeting between the two squads, the Cardinals now improve to 5-3 on the season while the Lancers fall to 2-6 overall. This afternoon's gate fee was waived as donations were accepted for today's fundraiser for Coaches versus Cancer.
St. John Fisher began the contest with excellent long-range shooting as sophomore Mike Wier (East Aurora, NY) hit a trio of trifectas to give the Cardinals the 13-8 edge with 14:04 left on the clock.
The Lancers responded with a 13-6 run thanks to a pair of three-pointers by sophomore Mike Gittens (Uncasville, CT) and a trey by senior Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) to pull ahead 21-19 at the 8:47 mark of the first half.
The Cardinals finished the frame strong by going out on a 10-6 rally to gain the 29-27 lead at the intermission.
After the break, the two teams fought hard with five ties coming in the first eight minutes of the second stanza before the Maroon and Gold grabbed a 47-42 lead near the midway point.
WSU responded with a 7-0 run over the next five minutes with Stephenson scoring five of their seven points to give the Lancers a two-point edge at the with 5:55 left (49-47).
St. John Fisher bounced back and kept momentum on their side, grabbing the outright lead at the 2:07 mark and finished the game going 8-for-8 from the free throw line and forcing four WSU's seven second-half turnovers.
The Lancers, however, would cut the Cardinals edge to 60-59 with 26 seconds on the clock, but four consecutive free-throws made by senior Jason Gettings (Cohoes, NY) sealed the game for the visitors. WSU also had an opportunity to tie down by three with seven seconds remaining, but could not fire off a good look at the basket.
Sophomore Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) led the Blue and Gold with game-highs in points (23) and rebounds (11) for his fifth double-double of the season while also having two assists and a pair of steals.
Stephenson had 16 points – including nine in the second quarter – to go along with four boards and two steals. Junior Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA/Belmont) also contributed with 10 points and nine caroms.
Gettings led St. John Fisher with a team-high 20 points and was a perfect six-for-six from the charity stripe while he gathered two rebounds. Wier had 11 points including a three-for-six clip from behind the arc while grabbing five boards and doling out three assists.
St. John Fisher was solid from the floor as they connected for 47 percent for the game (23-for-49) and made five of their 16 attempts from three point land (31 percent). The Lancers added a modest line from the field as they were 40 percent overall (25-for-63), but only managed to hit four of their 14 bids from downtown.
The key statistic in the contest was second-half shooting from the charity stripe. The Cardinals were 11-for-12 in the final stanza (92 percent) as WSU got to the line just three times – converting all three tries.
Each team committed 10 miscues with the Maroon and Gold holding the three point edge (14-11) in points off turnovers. The Lancers had 17 offensive rebounds to give them a 21-10 advantage in second-chance points.
Both teams take a long break before playing in tournaments just before the New Year on Thursday December 29th.
The Lancers will travel to Newport News, VA for the Captains Shootout and face McDaniel in the opening round for a 5:30 PM tip-off. St. John Fisher plays in the Woodcliff Hotel & Spa Invitational as they play Westminster in the first round an 8 PM.
Release by Jim Sarkisian – Sports Information Intern