PITTSFORD, NY – The St. John Fisher Cardinals owned the boards on Friday night, building a sizable early lead and fending off several runs by the Houghton Highlanders en route to their seventh Empire 8 victory of the season, 84-69.
 
Within the game's first nine minutes the Cardinals led, 31-12, but the Highlanders slowly began to claw back into contention.  With 1:59 remaining in the first half Jordan Holmes drained a three-pointer that cut the Cardinals lead to only six points.
 
Fisher, however, closed out the half with a 6-0 run, and entered the half leading, 46-34.
 
Early in the second half Houghton stayed within 12-16 points of the Cardinals, but by the 7:16 mark a pair of Nick Klein free throws put Fisher up by 20 points.
 
For the remainder of the game every Houghton run was answered by the Cardinals, and the Highlanders could pull no closer than 15 points.
 
GAME VITALS
Score: Houghton – 69 | St. John Fisher – 84
Records: Houghton: 4-15 (2-6 Empire 8) | St. John Fisher: 12-7 (7-1 Empire 8)
Venue: Manning & Napier Varsity Gymnasium, St. John Fisher College | Attendance: 189

NOTABLE STATS
>> While the Highlanders committed one fewer turnover than the Cardinals, the game was decided on the glass, particularly on the offensive end.  Fisher outrebounded Houghton, 40-25, including a 12-to-3 disparity in offensive boards.  While the Cardinals shot only three percent better than the Highlanders from the field, their offensive rebounding gave them 10 additional shots from the floor.
 
>> Jordan Holmes went 7-for-16 from the field and 4-for-4 from the line, scoring 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds to lead the Highlanders.   He reached the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season and currently leads the team with 14.5 points per game.  Holmes currently has 838 career points.
 
>> Darren Clark (11 points), Isander Ramos-Net (10 points) and Scottie Berghaus (10 points) all reached double-digit scoring.  Ramos-Net accomplished the feat for the seventh consecutive game, Berghaus for the sixth consecutive game, and Clark for the third time in as many games.
 
>> Sammy Robinson led the Cardinals with 19 points, while James Leone collected 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Dennis Hare added 15 points.
 
UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the Nielsen Center tomorrow afternoon to take on the Nazareth Golden Flyers in the opening game of a men's/women's Empire 8 doubleheader at 2:00 p.m.