50-Point Second Half Powers UR to UAA Challenge Victory

MIDDLEBURY, VT – Though they trailed at the break, the University of Rochester men’s basketball defeated the Middlebury College Panthers, 72-58, behind a 50-point second half, on Saturday in their first game of the 2023 UAA Challenge inside Pepin Gymnasium.

Trailing by four heading into the locker room, UR shot 51.6 percent from the field, knocked down 17-of-18 free throws and forced 11 second-half turnovers on their way to a 50-point second half an eventual, 72-58 victory.

Rochester would get its offense going early with a pair of layups from Matt Niemczura and C.J. Amsellem, opening an early 4-0 lead on Middlebury. The Panthers would score their first bucket on Noah Osher’s and-one at the 18:23 mark of the first half, as the two sides struggled to get much going offensively early on in the first.

The Yellowjackets and Panthers combined for just 21 points over the first 10 minutes of play, with the two teams shooting just 10-for-24 from the floor.

Logan Jagodzinski’s jumper with 14:17 left in the first gave UR a 10-5 lead before Corvin Opreaknocked down a triple on Rochester’s ensuing possession to make it a six-point, 13-7 lead.

The ‘Jackets would lead by as many as 10 in the opening period following six-straight points from Matt Wiele, 19-9, and again following Tomiwa Adetosoye’s three with 5:52 until the halftime buzzer. But from there, the ‘Jackets would go silent, going the final 5:25 of the first half without a made field goal.

Middlebury used a 14-0 run over a 4:35 stretch to turn a 22-12 deficit into a 26-22 halftime lead, forcing four turnovers and shooting 7-for-8 from the field at the other end. Sam Stevens’ jumper at the 5:25 mark of the first half got the Panthers’ run started before Tristan Joseph leveled the score at 22-all with 2:48 left in the first.

Two more jumpers by Jaden Bobbett and Stevens sent Middlebury into halftime with a four-point lead, before David Brennan made it a 28-22 game, the Panthers’ largest lead of the night, with his jumper 38 seconds into the second half.

Jagodzinski broke Rochester’s scoring drought with two free throws to start the second, before jumpers from Matt Niemczura and Adetosoye pulled UR within two, 30-28, at the 17:29 mark of the second.

The ‘Jackets would keep things close over the next four minutes, while Wiele contributed five points to keep it a two-point game with just over 12 minutes left. Back-to-back Adetosoye jumpers, sandwiched around Kuba Cwalina’s three, brought the Yellowjackets within a point, before a thunderous dunk from Jagodzinski less than a minute later again pulled UR within a point, 46-45.

Evan Flaks’ jumper with 7:30 to play made it a three-point Middlebury lead, but from there, the ‘Jackets would take control of the game. Adetosoye added another layup, to again pull UR within one, and after Flaks missed a three, two free throws from Wiele gave UR a 49-48 lead, its first lead since the first half.

Two more free throws from Wiele stretched UR’s lead out to three, as the ‘Jackets went on a 24-6 run over the next six-plus minutes, taking the lead and eventually putting it out of reach for the Panthers.

After the Panthers pulled back within one on two free throws, Wiele knocked down a jumper and Adetosoye went 2-for-2 at the line, before Niemczura’s layup at the 4:02 mark made it a 57-50 UR advantage.

In the bonus, Rochester would shoot 18 second-half free throws, including 13 over the 24-6 run, extending their lead out to double digits on Adetosoye’s fast-break dunk with 1:44 remaining.

Rochester held Middlebury to just 2-for-10 shooting over the run, forcing five turnovers while the ‘Jackets shot 6-for-10 from the field and 12-for-13 from the free-throw line.

Down 11 with a minute and a half to play, Middlebury elected to foul to try and extend the game, but both Adetosoye and Niemczura went 2-for-2 at the line, helping Rochester finish off the 72-58 victory.

The Yellowjackets move to 3-3 with the win, while Middlebury falls to 2-5 with the loss.

Overall, the ‘Jackets shot 45.5 percent from the field for the contest, 3-for-16 from three and 19-for-23 from the line. The Panthers also shot upwards of 40 percent at 43.3 percent, but just 3-for-15 from three and 3-for-6 from the line.

Individually, Adetosoye led Rochester with 21 points, adding four steals and three boards, while Wiele and Jagodzinski also scored in double figures with 19 and 11 points apiece. Wiele shot 9-for-12 at the line, while both Jagodzinski and Wiele notched a team-high eight rebounds.

Niemczura added a team-high three assists and two blocks, while Brennan and Cwalina scored 10 points apiece to lead Middlebury.

The ‘Jackets will wrap up the 2023 UAA Challenge on Sunday, Dec. 3 with a matchup against Hamilton College at 1:00 p.m. inside Pepin Gymnasium.