St. John Fisher 80, Utica 66 - Box Score

Utica, N.Y. (1/7/2011) – The Utica College men's basketball team could not seem to find its rhythm, shooting 37.7 percent from the floor, as the Pioneers lost to visiting St. John Fisher College 80-66 in Empire 8 Conference play Friday night. The Pioneers, who were led by senior guard James Patterson (Poughkeepsie, NY/Poughkeepsie)'s 20 point effort, have now lost three in a row and dropped to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in conference play.

St. John Fisher (7-5, 3-0 E8) won its sixth straight contest and featured a balanced scoring attack consisting of three double digit scorers. Jordan Gettings led the way for the Cardinals with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Brandon Witte added 15 points and Jason Norsen registered 16 points.

The Pioneers fell into a quick ten point hole -- making just one field goal – as the Cardinals jumped out to a 13-3 lead 5:48 into the contest. UC was able to cut the lead to four points after a 7-1 run, but the Cardinals responded right back and extended their lead to 12 points, 23-11, with 8:04 to go in the first half. Fisher used a 22-10 run in the final 7:15 of the first half to take a commanding 22 point lead into the locker room.

Fisher did not slow down in the second half, scoring five straight points to open the half, to take its largest lead of the contest (27 points), 50-23, with 18:39 to go in regulation. Over the course of the next six minutes the Utica went on a 12-2 run to cut the Cardinals lead to 52-35, with 12:45 to go. Fisher answered again with a 10-1 run and held a 26 point lead, 62-36, with just under ten minutes left on the game clock.

The Pioneers were able to cut the deficit back down to 12 points with 4:19 to go but it proved to be too late as the visitors earned a 14 point victory.

Sophomore Kevin Johnson and senior Will Abrams (Somerset, NJ/Rutgers Prep School) each tallied nine points for UC, while sophomore Jeff Ward (Ossining, NY/Ossining High School) snagged a game-high 11 rebounds for the Pioneers. Senior guard Marlon Davidson (Jamaica, NY/August Martin) scored seven points in seven minutes of action late in the contest for Utica. Freshman Adolphe Jean Baptiste (Harlem, NY/Martin Luther King) netted six points off the bench for the Pioneers, while classmate Jevin McClendon (Poughkeepsie, NY/Our Lady of Lourdes) added four points on 2-of-3 shooting.

Utica looks to break its three game skid as the Pioneers return to action Saturday against visiting Alfred University at 4 p.m.

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