UTICA, NY - The Utica University men's basketball team fell to the St. John Fisher Cardinals 70-65 in the Empire 8 Semifinals on Friday evening. 
 
Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) led the Pioneers with 17 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point. He also added three steals and a pair of assists to his line. Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, NY/Rondout Valley) netted 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor and 4-for-7 from three to go with four rebounds. Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro) and Dayion Thompson (Beacon, NY/Kimball Union Academy) each totaled 11 points on a combined 10-for-17 shooting. 
 
For the Cardinals, Empire 8 Player of the year Daniel Cook had a 12 point, 10 rebound double-double while four of his teammates also figured in double figures. 
 
As a team, Utica shot 47.9 percent from the field (23-48), 37.5 percent from three (6-16) and 54.2 percent from the free throw line (13-24). The team was also outrebounded by Fisher 37-27 including 9-4 on the offensive end. 
 
The Pioneers came out of the gates with good rhythm as Darius Hopkins (Tampa, FL/Seffner Christian) kicked things off with a 10-foot jumper followed by a three-pointer and layup by Coston for an early 7-2 edge. The Cardinals found their stride as well a few minutes later. The sides traded blows from beyond the arc, Fisher jumped back out to 17-16 at the 12:21 mark. From there, the pesky fourth seed remained in the lead, albeit by six or less, until roughly 2:30 to play. 
 
Brantley and Morreale closed out the half strong for Utica, ensuring the game would enter the midway point with the sides even at 37-37. 
 
Much like the first half, the Pioneers came out strong in the second. The team opened the final 20 minutes of play on a 13-3 run to go up by 10 at 50-40 with 12:49 to go. 
 
However, the Cardinals stayed within striking distance. 
 
Slowly but surely the visitors chipped away until the score was once again tied, this time 55-55 with 7:20 left. Following free throws by Brantley and a pretty turnaround shot by Thompson, Fisher responded with a triple to take its first lead of the half at 60-59. 
 
The score remained deadlocked at 60 all for nearly two minutes until Jack Foley buried a three with 2:12 left for a three-point advantage. On the ensuing Utica possession with the shot clock nearing zero, Hopkins sent up a prayer from well beyond the arc that found its way through the bottom of the net to tie things back up at 63. 
 
The Cardinals collected an offensive rebound on their next trip down the court which set up a Ryan Gentile three to give the team a 66-63 lead with 1:12 to play. 
 
From there, the Pioneers could not recover. Fisher drained their free throws down the stretch to come out with the upset win over Utica. 
 
Utica (22-4, 17-1 Empire 8) will look to earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. The selection show will take place at 1 p.m. on Monday and will be live streamed via NCAA.com.