Rochester, N.Y.  — The SUNY Poly men's basketball team put together a complete performance on the road Friday night, pulling away in the second half to earn a convincing 78–56 conference victory over the Saint John Fisher Cardinals. With the win, the Wildcats move to a 15-4 (8-2) record. 

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

The opening minutes saw both teams attack the paint, with Maximus Michalski and Maxwell Schneider answering inside for the home side to briefly build a 6–0 edge. The Wildcats quickly settled in behind interior finishes from Marqiis Samuels and early perimeter shooting from William Scanlon, whose first three-pointer of the night cut the deficit in half.

SUNY Poly leaned heavily on its interior presence throughout the half. Samuels finished multiple strong takes in the paint, while Oumaru Hydara provided energy off the bench with a layup to keep the score level. Scanlon connected on two first-half three-pointers, and Anthony Rose began to find his rhythm attacking the basket and getting to the free-throw line.

The lead changed hands several times during the final minutes of the half. After the score was tied at 27–27 with under two minutes to play, Rose took over late. He converted at the line, knocked down a midrange jumper, and capped the half with a driving layup in the closing seconds to give SUNY Poly a 32–27 advantage heading into the locker room.

SUNY Poly came out of halftime with purpose. Brian Bonin opened the scoring with a jumper and free throw, and Rose followed with a fastbreak layup after forcing a turnover to push the lead to 37–31. Although the home team briefly closed the gap behind transition buckets, the Wildcats responded with timely defense and execution.

Midway through the second half, SUNY Poly took firm control. Bonin finished in transition, Scanlon buried a three from the wing, and Kamryn Comstock scored on consecutive possessions inside, stretching the lead to double digits. The Wildcats' defense fueled the surge, forcing turnovers that led to easy baskets and limiting second-chance opportunities.

With under eight minutes remaining, SUNY Poly continued to pour it on. Samuels scored twice in the paint, Bonin knocked down a three, and Hydara added a corner triple to extend the margin past 20. Rose added a late three of his own, while SUNY Poly's bench closed out the final minutes with energy and discipline to secure the 78–56 road win.

"Great road win tonight," said head coach Rob Schoener. "Took us a little while to get into a rhythm offensively but we guarded with urgency and really battled on the glass! Back to work tomorrow afternoon."