Brockport rolls over St John Fisher to reach E8 Championship

By: Ashton Townsend

BROCKPORT, NY—The No. 5 seed Brockport Golden Eagles clinched a spot in the Empire 8 championship with a 74-57 win over No. 8 St. John Fisher. The Golden Eagles used a 49-33 advantage in the second half to seal the win after leading by only one at halftime.

Freshman Pharell Aybar flexes after scoring two of his 12 points in the victory over St. John Fisher (Photo: Brockport Athletics)

“I was surprised with the slow start; it was more just, offensively, I didn't love the flow and it wasn't quick movements and credit to Fisher, they really packed the paint.” Brockport head coach Joe Clarke said. “Things turned around and again in the second half once we got stops, that's kind of been our M.O. the last three, four weeks, where it got us out in transition, we started to make some shots, and then the rest is history.”

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 1:45 of the game after a Jacob Oka two-pointer and an Ajani Flemming three-pointer, which lit up the Brockport crowd. After a slow rest of the first frame, the Golden Eagles led 25-24 as freshman Pharell Aybar had nine points to lead all scorers at the time.

Opening the second half, it went back and forth in the first four minutes until Brockport grabbed a three-point lead, which they never relinquished the rest of the way. Freshman Jack Clancy used an 11-point frame to spur the Golden Eagles.

After a three-pointer and a slam by Camron Dyer, the Golden Eagles found themselves with a 19-point lead with two minutes remaining.

“I just know what I’m capable of and my teammates got me in the right spots,” Clancy said. We’re really deep, we got everybody you need and everybody can do anything.”

By the end of the game, the Golden Eagles had five double-digit scorers for the second straight game. Clancy (13), Dyer (13), Oka (12), Aybar (12) and Flemming (10).

Ajani Flemming bringing up the ball. The freshman has scored 29 points in the last two postseason matchups for Brockport. (Photo: Brockport Athletics)

“Guys share the ball, and it's not about one guy,” Clarke said. “Since we've been turning things around, it's been 18 assists, 19 assists, 20 assists, and that's in the message and practices, share the ball. The goal for us is to get an open shot wherever that is, because we move the ball or drive the ball inside out. So they bought into that.”

Jonathan McCaffrey led the Cardinals with a team-high 12 points. Jack Janes scored nine points off the bench.

The Golden Eagles move to their first Empire 8 conference championship game since moving to the conference last season. Their last SUNYAC championship appearance was in the 2022-23 season, where they fell to SUNY Oswego St.

“It’s one more,” Clarke said. “Win or lose today, I've been proud of the kind of accomplishments we've made since that start. So that’s what it's about. It's not always about winning the championship, winning games. It's about so much more of the other stuff that people don't talk about or see, that I'll cherish forever. It’s more about being proud.”

The packed out Brockport crowd for the E8 Semifinals. The Golden Eagles will host at the vlog again this Saturday. (Photo: Brockport Athletics)

The Golden Eagles will take on No. 7 seed Keuka in the Empire 8 championship on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m.