The University of Rochester used some hot shooting in the first half and withstood a St. John Fisher 2nd half rally to hang on for a 63-50 victory in the semifinals of the Wendy's Classic Friday night at the Palestra.
 
UR senior guard John DiBartolomeo led all scorers with 26 points and grabbed a game high nine rebounds while hitting 6-9 3-pointers.  Fisher's Thad Weir and Jason Norsen topped the Cardinals in scoring to help get the visitors back in the game.
 
The #17 ranked Yellowjackets (7-0) are into the Wendy's championship game after a one year hiatus last season.  UR will be seeking its 11th Wendy's tournament title against defending champion Hobart College on Saturday at 8 pm.  The Statesmen are coached by longtime UR head coach Mike Neer who won all of Rochester's 10 Wendy's tournament titles.
 
DiBartolomeo got things going early, making three 3-pointers to push the home Yellowjackets in front 11-2.  Six of UR's first eight shots made were three's.
 
St. John Fisher (3-1) tried to get back into it with its big man Norsen inside.  He finished the first half with six points, two rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
The 3-pointers kept falling for the Yellowjackets with Kyle Reardon, Dan Shapiro and Kevin Sheehy hitting from long range midway through the half.  Junior Nate Vernon got in on the mix with one three and was fouled shooting another.
 
DiBartolomeo pushed the lead to 20 at halftime draining two more contested three pointers.  The senior All-American guard finished the first half with 15 points (5-6 3 pt FG) and six rebounds.  At the break, Rochester hit 9-13 from 3-point range (69%) while the Cardinals struggled from the floor only shooting 8-28 (29%) on their field goals.
 
In the second half, the Yellowjackets went ice cold for the first 9 minutes, shooting just 1-12 from the floor and only scoring five points in that span.  The Cardinals were able to cut the 20 point halftime deficit down to nine behind solid shooting from Weir who hit two three's and was fouled on a third, making all three free throws.
 
A big Kyle Reardon three 10 minutes in stopped Fisher's momentum and sparked a 12-2 Rochester spurt to build the lead back up to 19.  Reardon provided five and DiBartolomeo provided the other seven points in the stretch.
 
The Cardinals tried to mount a late charge due to some poor UR shooting, but couldn't get any closer than 11 as the Yellowjackets went on to a 63-50 victory and a spot in the Wendy's Classic championship game.  In the second session, UR was only 5-22 from the floor (23%) and ended the game only shooting 36% (17-47).  Fisher wasn't any better, ending the game 20-55 from the floor (36%).
 
Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch sealed the win for the Yellowjackets as they did not hit a field goal in the last 8:30 of the game.  UR finished a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line, tying a tournament record for percentage in a game.  RIT was 11-11 from the line last season against Nazareth.
 
DiBartolomeo led all scorers with 26 points, his fifth 20 point output in seven games this season.  Nate Vernon was the only other UR scorer in double figures, chipping in 10 points.  Reardon finished with eight and Tyler Sankes had six points.
 
For the Cardinals, Weir ended with 17 points on 6-13 shooting while Norsen had 12 points, 6 boards and 4 big blocked shots.  Chaz Lott had a solid all-around game for Fisher with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
 
The Wendy's title came will come Saturday night at 8 pm with the U of R facing off against Hobart.  St. John Fisher will take on conference rival Nazareth in the 3 pm men's 3rd place game.

Before the men's game, the Yellowjacket women take on SUNY Geneseo in the 5:30 pm women's championship game.