Jagodzinski, Wiele Power Rochester to UAA Road Win

WALTHAM, MA – University of Rochester men’s basketball snapped its four-game losing streak, bouncing back from a Friday night defeat at the hands of No. 13 NYU to defeat Brandeis, 61-52, on Sunday afternoon inside Red Auerbach Arena.
 
The ‘Jackets pulled out a tough, road win, scoring the last seven points of the contest after the Judges used a 13-1 run to pull within two, 54-52, over the final nine minutes of the second half. Rochester led by as many as 14, taking their largest lead of the afternoon on Mitchell Kershner’s layup from Logan Jagodzinski with 10:02 to play.
 
Kershner’s bucket capped off a 10-0 run for UR that saw them turn a four-point lead into a 14-point advantage, keyed by five from Matt Wiele and Tomiwa Adetosoye’s fastbreak dunk.
 
Rochester led by three, 33-29, at the halftime break, and kept Brandeis at an arm’s length for much of the start of the second half. Wiele got things going for UR in the second, before Adetosoye’s jumper made it a seven-point advantage, 37-30, with 18:10 remaining.
 
Ethan Edwards would answer with a three-point play for the Judges, as the sophomore scored nine of Brandeis’ first 10 points of the frame. Edwards would cut UR’s lead down to four, 43-39, with a pair of free throws at the 14:21 mark, before Rochester made its run, outscoring the Judges, by 10 over nearly four minutes to take a 53-49 lead.
 
But the Judges would get things rolling at the other end with three made free throws before Edwards knocked down another triple, one of seven makes from beyond the arc for Brandeis, to cut the deficit to single digits with 6:41 to play.
 
After Sam Adusei went 1-for-2 at the line, Malachi Moore answered with a free throw on the other end, but Edwards kept the Judges’ rolling on the ensuing possession, sinking a layup to bring Brandeis within six.
 
Gilbert Otoo added another bucket to make it a four-point game with just over four minutes to play, before two Quron Zene free throws pulled the Judges within two, 54-52, with 3:10 left.
 
However, both teams would go relatively silent for the next two minutes, combining to miss six shots and turn it over twice. But after Jagodzinski was blocked by Zene at the rim, Matt Niemczura corralled the offensive rebound, giving Rochester another possession with just over a minute left.
 
UR would take advantage, as Jagodzinski knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the night off a kick-out from Adetosoye. And after Edwards’ layup was blocked by Wiele, Niemczura beat Brandeis’ ball pressure and found Jagodzinski for the slam, putting Rochester up seven, 59-52, with 31 seconds left.
 
Edwards would then miss another three, before two Niemczura free throws put the Judges away for good, finishing off the 61-52 victory.
 
Rochester got off to a hot start in the opening period, hitting three triples over the first six minutes against the Judges. Back-to-back layups by Niemczura and Jagodzinski’s layup gave UR an early 7-0 lead before Adusei got Brandeis on the scoreboard with a three just over two minutes in.
 
UR led by as many as nine in the first half following Moore’s three, before Edwards keyed another run, scoring four of seven over a two-minute stretch to knot the score at 22-all.
 
Layups by Jagodzinski and Wiele put Rochester back up four before Brandeis took their first lead of the day on Aedan Using’s right-wing three with 6:52 left in the first.
 
However, Rochester would regain with Jagodzinski’s answer on the other end, and stretch it to six, 33-27, before Zene scored a layup to send the Yellowjackets up four into the halftime break.
 
Rochester moves back to .500 at 9-9 (3-4 UAA) with the win, while Brandeis drops to 11-7 (2-5 UAA) with the loss.
 
Wiele and Jagodzinski combined for 38 of UR’s 61 points, with Wiele tallying a team-high 20 on 8-for-10 shooting, while Jagodzinski notched 18, shooting 4-for-5 from three. Adetosoye led UR on the glass with eight rebounds, while Wiele totaled a team-high four assists.
 
Rochester shot 47.1 percent as a team, and 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from three, holding Brandeis to just 29.8 percent shooting and 7-for-23 from deep. Where the Judges outscored UR was at the free-throw line, shooting 11-for-16, compared to just 5-for-8 for Rochester.
 
The Yellowjackets next return home to host NYU and Brandeis, kicking off another UAA weekend against the Violets on Friday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. inside the Louis Alexander Palestra.

UR’s Late Rally Falls Short at No. 13 NYU

NEW YORK, NY – Despite making three three-pointers in the final minute and five seconds to twice pull within four, the University of Rochester men’s basketball fell to the 13th-ranked New York University Violets, 80-73, on Friday evening inside the John A. Paulson Center.

Zay Feeney opened the contest with a triple for the home squad, as the Violets and ‘Jackets traded buckets in the early going before a quick, 7-0 spurt gave NYU a 12-5 lead just shy of the 15-minute mark.

The Violets would lead for much of the first 10 minutes, but after triples from Matt Wiele and Malachi Moore pulled the Yellowjackets within a possession, Matt Niemczura made it a one-point game with his fastbreak layup from Tomiwa Adetosoye with 11:21 left in the first.

Cinque Stevens would answer on the other end for the Violets, bringing NYU’s lead back out to three, but three-straight buckets from Adetosoye, including a pair keyed by NYU turnovers, would give UR its first lead of the night.

Adetosoye made it 21-20 Rochester with a dunk on the fastbreak before the sophomore turned an NYU turnover into a fastbreak layup and a three-point UR lead with 9:06 left until the halftime break.

Adetosoye’s layup capped off an 11-2 run over 2:51 that gave Rochester its first lead of the night, and while NYU would answer with two quick ones of their own, back-to-back threes by Wiele and Niemczura would make it a five-point UR advantage, 29-24, at the 4:33 mark of the first.

The Violets though, would end the first half on a 7-2 run, as Spencer Freedman’s triple capped off seven straight to put the home side back in front before Moore’s layup made it a 33-32 NYU lead at the break.

Three-pointers by Adetosoye and Logan Jagodzinskiwould keep things close early on in the third, but after Jagodzinski’s trey helped UR retake a one-point lead, the Violets answered with a big run, stretching their lead out to their largest of the night.

NYU retook the lead on Emmanuel Onuama’s layup with 17:28 to play, before Freeman got going with another triple. In total, the Violets held UR to just 4-for-9 from the field and forced five turnovers over an eight-minute stretch, outscoring Rochester, 21-8, from the 17:40 mark of the second half till there were just over nine minutes to play.

Freeney’s triple at the 11:15 mark made it an eight-point game before the junior added two more to stretch NYU’s lead out to double digits. Stephens would cap off the run with two free throws, and the Violets held their largest lead of the night, 58-46, with 9:15 to play.

Threes by Adetosoye and Wiele pulled Rochester back within 10, but the Violets would keep things at an arm’s length for much of the second half. Freedman’s two free throws at the five-minute mark brought NYU’s lead back out to double digits before the ‘Jackets made a run to pull within five.

Adeotosoye knocked down four free throws as part of a career night, while Moore, who scored 11 of his 18 in the second half, brought Rochester within five with 2:47 remaining.

The Violets would go back up 10, hitting five free throws over the next minute and a half, but Wiele and Moore then went back-to-back forcing a turnover in-between, this time pulling Rochester within four with under a minute left.

Down 73-69, Rochester fouled and sent Freeman to the line, where he went 2-for-2, while Moore went just 1-for-2 at the other end, and with two more free throws the Violets extended their lead to seven.

Moore answered with another three-pointer, one of three makes for the first-year and 12 on the night for UR, again making it a four-point game, 77-73. And while Rochester nearly got a turnover on the inbounds, NYU got a timeout just in the nick of time, and Freeman and Stephens hit their free throws over the final 10 seconds to seal the victory.

The loss drops Rochester to 8-9 (2-4 UAA) on the year, while #13 NYU moves to 14-3 (4-2 UAA) with the win.

Adetosoye led UR with a career-high 22 points and eight assists, adding three steals, while Moore scored 18 points and Wiele added 17, shooting 5-for-5 from three. On the glass, Jagodzinski tallied a team-high seven rebounds, while Wiele led the ‘Jackets with two blocks.

As a team, Rochester made a season-high 12 three-pointers, shooting 40 percent (12-for-30) and 44.1 percent overall, but the Violets also shot above 40 percent at 44.6 percent, and made 24-of-27 from the free-throw line.

The Yellowjackets will look to bounce back and snap their four-game skid when they wrap up the weekend in Waltham, MA with a matchup against Brandeis University on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 12:00 p.m