ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher Cardinals sank a layup and four foul shots in the final forty seconds to slip past the Houghton College Highlanders on Saturday afternoon, 95-89.
 
The Highlanders maintained slim leads throughout the majority of the first half, but Tyler Hart sank a layup in the final seconds to tie the score, 52-52, sending Houghton to the locker room in a deadlock for the second night in a row.
 
In the second half it was the Cardinals who would lead more minutes than they trailed, though never by more than five points.
 
With three and a half minutes remaining in the game and the Cardinals up by four, Houghton's Dylan Lambert (Amherst, NY, Williamsville North) nailed a three-pointer to bring the Highlanders within one.
 
After Jordan Scott (Burlington, ON, Canada, Notre Dame Secondary) tied the score with a free throw, Fisher's Daniel Morales scored to put the Cardinals back up by two.
 
The Highlanders missed their shot on the ensuing possession, but a steal by Lambert and a layup by Brandon Camacho (Dundee, NY, Dundee High School) tied the score with just over a minute to play.
 
With 48 second remaining Hart scored to put Fisher up by two and in the ensuing possessions the Highlanders failed to convert, forcing foul situations, which the Cardinals converted cleanly to seal the game.
 
Game Vitals:
      >Score:  Houghton College - 89   |   St. John Fisher College - 95
      >Records:  Houghton: 10-13 (5-10 Empire 8)   |   St. John Fisher: 18-5 (12-2 Empire 8)
      >Venue: Manning & Napier Varsity Gym, Rochester, NY    |    Attendance: 550
 
Clutch Performances:
The Highlanders:
      >Tyler McQuaid (Lowman, NY, Twin Tiers Christian Academy) posted his third double-double of the season with16 points and 10 rebounds.  He now has 979 career points with two games remaining in the season, both of which are home games.
      >Johnathan Stowe (Toronto, ON, Canada, Don Mills Collegiate Institute) collected 15 points, six boards and three assists
      >Lambert finished the game with 16 point and Camacho nearly earned a double-double the hard way, scoring 10 points and dishing out nine assists.
 
The Cardinals:
      >Five Fisher players finished with double-digit point totals, including Hart, who posted 21 points and seven assists.
      >Zach Ottaway and Alex Sausville scored 18 and 15 points apiece, respectively.
      >Keegan Ryan and Tyler English scored 13 points apiece and Ryan brought down 10 rebounds.
       
Stat Analysis:
      >Fisher shot 54 percent from the field, including 41 percent from beyond the three-point line.  Houghton shot 49 percent, but a season-best 15 of 28 (54 percent) from beyond the arch.
      >The two teams combined for only 15 turnovers on the game, nine by the Highlanders and only six by the Cardinals.
 
Next Time Out:
The Highlanders return home on Tuesday for their first non-conference game since December 10^th as they take on the D'Youville College Spartans at 6:00 p.m. in the Nielsen Center.