SWARTHMORE, Pa. – In winning eight of its first nine games this year, the Rochester men's team has fashioned plenty of success through its offensive skill. On Tuesday night against the nation's top-ranked team, the Yellowjackets nearly pulled off an outstanding upset thanks to their defensive ability.
Swarthmore College made key plays in the closing minutes to emerge with a 59-56 victory and keep the record clean at 10-0. The Garnet have been ranked No. 1 in Division III throughout the season by D3hoops.com. Swarthmore finished as the NCAA Division III national runnerup last year.
Rochester head coach Luke Flockerzi wanted a tough challenge for Rochester coming off a lengthy holiday break. UR ran its record to 8-1 after a 68-63 come-from-behind win over Ithaca in early December. The Yellowjackets stand at 8-2 right now. They will host RIT on January 7, then open the University Athletic Association season on Jan. 11 in Atlanta against Emory.
The Garnet pulled away from a 10-10 tie in the first period to open a 28-18 edge with 2:36 left. Ryan Algier scored five points in the closing minutes as UR rallied within 29-23 by halftime.
Algier led all scorers with 20 points, hitting 8 of 10 from the field, including a 3-pointer and a couple of dunks. Kailan Lee was the other double figure scorer for UR with 13 points. Ross Gang found his second touch in the second half. He scored seven points and collected eight rebounds.
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| Swarthmore athletics photo |
For Swarthmore, Vinny Deangelo had 12 points and George Visconti scored 10. Nate Shafer had nine points and eight rebounds. Zac O'Dell grabbed nine boards, handed out four assists, and blocked two shots. He and Shafer helped Swarthmore to a 41-33 edge on the glass.
Shafer's layup kept the home team's lead at 10, 39-29, with five minutes gone in the second half. Rochester tightened its defense and went on a 13-2 run over three minutes. Gang scored five of the 13. Lee scored five as well. His jumper got Rochester within 39-36 and three minutes later, he hit a trey from the left corner to give UR a 42-41 lead.
It was back and forth from there. Algier's layup tied it at 44. The Garnet moved ahead, 47-44, on Shafer's layup and one free throw from O'Dell. Lee answered with a trey from the top of the key. The last UR lead was supplied by Algier. He sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key for a 51-49 lead with less than five minutes left. UR was down 56-53 when Algier drove for a dunk with 9 seconds left. The hosts made three of four free throws in the final seven seconds. Rochester hit one of two.