COLLEGE GOLF: OWEGO'S EVANS SIGNS WITH ST JOHN FISHER (0202-05-16)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — Two-sport standout Brendan Evans will take his golf talents to St. John Fisher College — and possibly his basketball skills as well.

The Owego senior committed to SJF Thursday, signing on his 18th birthday.

"I have signed my letter of intent to play golf," Evans said. "I also hope to play basketball."

The Cardinals fared well in both sports during the 2019-2020 campaign.

Men's golf placed second behind Utica College in the fall portion of the Empire 8 championships. The spring portion of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The men's basketball team posted a 12-2 Empire 8 record to finish conference play in second place. The Cardinals would upset regular season champion Nazareth College, 72-64, for the title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championships. SJF fell in the first round to York College (23-6) of Pennsylvania, which was ranked 25th nationally.

As for Evans, on the links he placed third at the Section IV Class B championships last fall and was a qualifier for the Section IV Medalist Tournament, which would have been held this spring. He was named to the inaugural 2018-19 All-Tioga County team as a junior and would most likely have repeated again this year on the 2019-20 squad.

He also excelled on the hardwood, averaging 10.6 points, 5.8 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. He also had 41 three-point field goals on 37-percent efficiency, and shot 55 percent from two-point range. As the Indians' point guard, he was as the team leader in a variety of ways, according to coach Chris Evans, being responsible for "getting us into our offenses, breaking the press, acting as the coach on the floor."

This past season, the younger Evans was named a Class B honorable mention by the New York State Sportswriters Association, and was a STAC All-Metro all-star, an All-Tioga County first team pick and was selected to the Basketball Coaches Association of New York All-Section IV team.

Evans highlighted several aspects of SJF which drew him to the school, which is located in Rochester.

"SJF is just an all around great fit for me," he sad, "with very nice facilities, and fantastic athletic and academic opportunities."

He will be majoring in sport management.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS EVANS.