St. Lawrence battled through a back-and-forth first half but St. John Fisher pulled away in the second half of the game, falling 61-52 to the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at the Mark's Pizzeria Crosstown Shootout in Rochester, N.Y.

The Saints traded baskets early and briefly led 6-4 after Tommy McMahon converted two free throws midway through the opening minutes. St. John Fisher responded with a pair of three-pointers to swing momentum and build a 10-6 advantage. St. Lawrence tied the game at 10 on a jumper from Brayden Shepardson, and Chris Downs pushed the Saints ahead 12-10 with a fast-break layup.

From there, the half turned into a series of runs. Cardinals first reclaimed the lead, and despite Connor Parkes sinking a free throw to tie it at 15, St. John Fisher closed the half strong and finished up 31-25.

St. Lawrence opened the second half with a spark as Anderson drilled a three-ball and Dudzinski scored inside to cut the deficit to one at 31-30. St. John Fisher answered with a 9-2 run, stretching the margin to 40-32. Free throws became a factor as the Cardinals converted nine in the second half, including two from Janes and four from McCaffrey during key possessions.

The Saints trimmed the gap to 44-39 on a layup by McMahon with 11:34 remaining, but St. John Fisher responded again. Violante's three-pointer at the five-minute mark pushed the lead to seven, and his jumper two minutes later made it 54-45. St. Lawrence managed late baskets from Phelan and Shepardson, including a three-pointer with 51 seconds left, but the Cardinals sealed the win shortly after.

Downs led St. Lawrence with 15 points while going 7-8 from the field, while Dudzinski added 10 points and nine rebounds. Anderson chipped in six points and five assists. St. Lawrence shot 45 per cent from the floor to St. John Fisher's 42 per cent.

The Saints now set for conference play, but first play SUNY Poly in their final non-conference tilt on Tuesday, December 2.