Jackets Come Up Short in Overtime Loss at CMU

PITTSBURGH, PA – The University of Rochester men’s basketball’s potential game-winner fell off the front end of the rim in regulation, and the Yellowjackets fell to the Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, 87-70 in overtime on Friday evening inside Wiegand Gymnasium.

With the score knotted at 67-all following a pair of free throws by R.J. Holmes, the Yellowjackets came out of a timeout with 17 seconds to play with a chance to pick up a road win in the Steel City. But Corvin Oprea’s jumper rimmed out, and C.J. Amsellem’s tip-in rolled off the rim and Holmes corralled the rebound, sending the two sides to overtime.

Oprea would get the Yellowjackets started in OT with a bucket, two of a team-high 18 points for the sophomore, but the Tartans would dominate the extra period the rest of the way, shooting 75% from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc in overtime.

Justin Allen answered Oprea’s layup with six-straight points, as the sophomore scored 10 of his game-high 31 points in OT. Back-to-back three-pointers from Aidan Booher and Buckey DeJardin would then make it a nine-point Carnegie Mellon lead before Allen would add four more, as the Tartans outscored UR, 20-3 in the overtime period to earn the 87-70 victory.

Rochester led much of the early going of the contest, leading by as many as 10 in the first half. Andrew Jackson’s floater 18 seconds in got the scoring started for both sides, and after Allen answered on the other end, the Yellowjackets reeled off 10-straight points to take an early lead.

Tomiwa Adetosoye and Matt Wiele each contributed four points over the 10-0 run before the Tartans cut into Rochester’s lead with five from Aidan Murphy and a bucket from Booher.

Carnegie Mellon then pulled within two on Allen’s triple, but each time the Tartans got things close in the first half, Rochester would have an answer. Mitchell Kershner answered Allen’s three with a layup, as the ‘Jackets held the Tartans scoreless for three-plus minutes.

Two more from Adetosoye stretched UR’s lead back out to eight before the Tartans cut it to five on Stone’s two free throws with just over six minutes left in the first half.

Logan Jagodzinski answered with his first points of the night, once again making it a seven-point game, before Oprea cashed a triple, one of three makes from beyond the arc for the sophomore.

Rochester would lead 35-31 at the halftime break, but the Tartans got hot to start the second half and took their first lead of the night. Allen and Holmes helped power a 10-2 run for the Tartans, as CMU took a 41-37 lead on Nolan Casey’s layup with 17:53 to play.

But the Yellowjackets answered, turning a four-point deficit into an eight-point lead over the next three minutes with a 12-0 run while holding CMU to 0-for-7 from the field. Adetosoye’s driving layup gave the ‘Jackets a 49-41 lead, but again the Tartans would claw their way back, pulling within one just over a minute-and-a-half later on Allen’s driving layup to cap off a 7-0 spurt for CMU.

Two free throws from Oprea kept the ‘Jackets in front, and Rochester would extend their lead to seven, 59-52, on Jagodzinski’s emphatic dunk with 8:45 to play.

But the Tartans would go on one more run, this time taking a 60-59 lead on back-to-back Casey buckets with 4:16 remaining, before Allen answered Oprea’s step-back triple with a drive to the hoop, leveling the score at 62-all heading into the final two-and-a-half minutes.

Oprea and Jack Stone then traded threes, before Adetosoye gave Rochester a two-point lead with his driving layup with 55 seconds left.

Allen was fouled on CMU’s ensuing possession, and while the sophomore missed them both, Holmes got the offensive rebound and was fouled, sending him to the line for 1-and-1. Holmes hit them both, setting up the ‘Jackets for a potential game-winner, but both Oprea and Amsellem’s attempts rimmed out, and the Tartans would dominate OT to take home the 87-70 victory.

Rochester falls to 10-13 (4-8 UAA) with the loss, while Carnegie Mellon moves to 15-8 (7-5 UAA) with the victory.

Adetosoye and Oprea each led Rochester with 18 points, while Jagodzinski scored 12. Jackson and Wiele each led UR on the glass with six rebounds, while Adetosoye tallied a team-high four assists, adding a steal.

Overall, Rochester shot 36.5 percent and just 1-for-8 in the overtime period, while the Tartans shot 38.3 percent, and 6-for-8 in OT.

The Yellowjackets will wrap up their weekend trip in Cleveland, OH with a matchup against No. 13 Case Western Reserve on Sunday, Feb. 18 at noon.

Rochester Bested by #13 Case Western Reserve

CLEVELAND, OH – University of Rochester men’s basketball fell to the 13th-ranked Case Western Reserve University Spartans, 99-70, on Sunday afternoon inside Horsburgh Gymnasium. The loss drops the Yellowjackets to 10-14 (4-9 UAA) with one game left in the regular season, while the Spartans remain tied atop the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings at 20-4 (9-4 UAA).

The Yellowjackets and Spartans would trade baskets in the early going, with Corvin Oprea’s three-pointer getting Rochester on the scoreboard just shy of the 18-minute mark of the first half. A quick 4-0 sput gave the Spartans an 8-5 lead just under five minutes into the frame, but UR answered with two baskets of their own, taking a 9-8 lead on Malachi Moore’s layup with 14:33 left in the first half.

Rochester would take its largest lead of the afternoon on Ethan McEachern’s triple following two free throws from Tomiwa Adetosoye at the 13:09 mark of the first, but the Spartans answered with an 11-0 run, scoring the next five buckets to take a 23-16 lead.

Peston Maccoux’s three-pointer from Umar Rashid gave CWRU an eight-point lead with 10:45 left in the first, but the ‘Jacket kept things close, pulling within four after Logan Jagodzinski scored two straight, and then made it a two-point game just over three minutes later as Jagodzinski went 2-for-2 at the line.

Colin Kahl answered with a layup to put the Spartans back up four, but Adetosoye hit another jumper, one of 11 first-half points for the sophomore, and Moore cashed in a pair of free throws to knot the score at 32-all with 4:33 remaining in the half.

Case Western Reserve scored the next seven though, with four coming from Anthony Mazzeo, to retake the lead, before Jagodzinski again made it a four-point game with his triple at the 2:21 mark of the first half.

Down the stretch, Mazzeo and the Spartans made it a nine-point lead with a 7-2 run, but Adetosoye and Wiele scored the final three points of the first half to send Rochester into the locker room down just six, 46-40.

Rochester would keep things close to start the second half, with six of their first eight second-half points coming from Adetosoye. The sophomore’s layup from Andrew Jackson made it a three-point game with 16:41 to play, but that’d be as close as the ‘Jackets would get the rest of the way.

The Spartans reeled off eight straight to pull ahead by 11, and while another Adetosoye bucket slowed CWRU’s run, Mazzeo knocked down two more buckets as the Spartans made it a 66-52 lead with 11:51 remaining.

Jagodzinski’s jumper and Wiele’s dunk brought the deficit back down to 10, but Kahl notched the next six points for the Spartans, helping the lead remain at 12.

Down 72-60 with just over eight-and-a-half minutes to play, Oprea hit two free throws to make it a 10-point game, but once again, the Spartans went on a run, this time putting the game out of reach. A 9-0 Spartans’ run stretched CWRU’s lead out to 19 before an 11-2 stretch gave Case Western Reserve a 92-66 lead with just over three minutes to play.

Both sides would clear their benches over the final few minutes, as the Spartans finished off the 99-70 victory.

Adetosoye led the Yellowjackets with a career-high 25 points, shooting 10-for-18 from the floor, while Jagodzinski notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth of the year.

For CWRU, Mazzeo led a trio of Spartans scoring 20+ with 24 points, while Kahl added 20 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Both teams shot well from the floor, with Rochester shooting 41.3% while Case Western Reserve hit 37-of-68, good for a 54.4 percent clip, but the Spartans hit nine three and 16-of-23 from the free-throw line, compared to just four triples for UR and 14-of-22 from the free-throw line.

The ‘Jackets will wrap up the regular season next Friday, Feb. 23 with a matchup against the Emory University Eagles in Atlanta, GA at 7:30 p.m.