Men’s Basketball Opens Season With Four-Point Victory Over Covenant
HAMBURG, N.Y. – Junior guard Jonathan McCaffrey scored a career-high 16 points while shooting 7-of-12 from the field in the St. John Fisher men’s basketball team’s 87-83 season-opening win over Covenant College (Ga.) on Friday in the Hilbert Hawks Against Hunger Tip-Off Tournament.
The Cardinals will face Waynesburg University at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the tournament championship game.
How It Happened
The Cardinals outscored Covenant 21-10 over the first 10 minutes behind seven points from sophomore forward Maximus Michalski and six from Giovanni Schillaci, who drilled a pair of 3-point baskets during that stretch.
Fisher maintained a mostly comfortable advantage the rest of the first half and took a 12-point lead, 32-20, into the break. Schillaci went 3-of-4 from deep in the first 20 minutes, and McCaffrey added eight points while shooting 3-of-4 overall and 2-of-5 from the foul line.
The Cardinals pushed their lead to 14 points early in the second half, but the Scots soon after made a 10-2 run to pull within two, 53-51.
Covenant never pulled even but stayed within striking distance until the Cardinals gave themselves some breathing room again with a 14-5 run that made it 76-64 with 5:28 left. McCaffrey scored six of his eight second-half points while shooting 3 of 4 from the field during that run.
The finish from there was not easy, of course.
The Scots made another push – 13-3 in just over two minutes – and tied the game at 79 with 2:47 remaining on a Logan Patterson layup.
Senior guard Max Schneider put the Cardinals back in front, 80-79, with a free throw with about two minutes left. Sophomore guard Andrew Violante made a floating jumper to make it 84-81 with 52 seconds left and knocked down a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left to make it 86-81.
After the Scots pulled within three, 86-83, sophomore guard Kyle Proper put the finishing touches on the win for the Cardinals with a made free-throw in the final 20 seconds.
Game Notes
- Fisher finished +11 on the glass, grabbing 63 rebounds (27 offensive).
- The Cardinals scored 46 points in the paint and 29 fast-break points.
- Fisher forced 22 Covenant turnovers and turned them into 25 points.
- Three Cardinals scored in double figures: McCaffrey, Michalski (13), Schillaci (11) and Schneider (10).
- Sophomore guard Jack Janes pulled down eight rebounds and recorded five steals. He also chipped in with six points.
- Schillaci made three of Fisher’s four 3-point baskets.
Up Next
The Cardinals will face Waynesburg University at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the Hilbert Hawks Against Hunger Championship Game.